4G communication in the 1800 MHz band is currently available in 1,380 localities for at least 90% of their residents, the National Commission for Communications and Informatization Regulation (NCCR) has reported. In accordance with the list of localities provided to the NCCR by operators, 4G communications in Ukraine cover: 95 localities by Kyivstar, 1,099 localities by Vodafone Ukraine and 185 localities by lifecell. The lifecell’s press service told Interfax-Ukraine that they had submitted a list of localities with a population of more than 10,000 people to the regulator, in which at least 90% of the population is covered by 4G communication in the 1800 MHz band.
“In total, 4.5G-communication from lifecell in the 1800 MHz band is available in 5,082 settlements with different levels of population coverage,” the lifecell said, citing data as of January 11, 2019.
In turn, the press service of Kyivstar also reported that they submitted exclusively those settlements in which more than 10,000 people live.
“The company did not include localities in the rural areas and small cities with a population of less than 10,000, as these data were not requested by the regulator. As for the territory of the 4G communication network, Kyivstar now covers 3,619 populated localities,” the country’s largest mobile operator said.
Vodafone Ukraine told Interfax-Ukraine that as of January 17, 2019, 1,124 localities are connected to the 4G network, about 19 million Ukrainians live in them, but the company could not explain why the number of localities submitted to the regulator is different compared with its competitors.
Kyivstar and lifecell suggested that such a difference is due to the fact that only the towns with a population of over 10,000 were submitted, while Vodafone Ukraine presented all of the localities.
According to the regulator, mobile operators have already received more than 35,500 licenses to operate radio electronic equipment: more than 24,500for 3G/UMTS; more than 9,500 for 4G/LTE (the 1800 MHz band) and about 1,500 for 4G/LTE (the 2600 MHz band).
According to the licensing conditions, operators must ensure that 4G services can be received within 12 months for at least 90% of the population of each regional center of Ukraine, and within 42 months for at least 90% of the population of each locality with a population of more than 10,000 people except for regional centers and settlements located in the zone of environmental protection and on the areas annexed by Russia.
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The European Business Association (EBA) predicts growth in the share of cashless payments of the total volume of payments to 17-20% in 2019 from 12-15% as of late 2018, the association has said in a press release. “This can be favored by the appearance of new technologies on the market that are interesting and convenient for consumers, for example, Apple Pay, Google Pay and others. In addition, the list of points where it is possible to pay using noncash – transport, cultural events, markets and shops – is expanding,” the EBA said.
“Certainly, we want a payment revolution now. One does not need cash to go anywhere and one could pay with a card everywhere, and also to have the card tied to the owner’s fingerprint. However, there are conditions and rates of market development,” said Coordinator of the EBA Electronic Payments Committee Ievgenii Veremiichenko said.
At the same time, in 2019, the business expects the introduction of several new services, among which is the issuance of cash through the POS terminals at the checkout counter of an outlet, the EBA said.
According to its experts, this service will solve the problem of underdeveloped banking infrastructure and provide consumers with access to funds in accounts where there are no bank branches.
The legislative basis for launching this service has been created, market players are making final adjustments and are preparing to start providing this service in the near future, the EBA said.
Along with this, the market expects currency exchange transactions in a cashless form via the Internet banking, which, as the association said, will be available in February.
Ukrainian businesses predict further economic growth and the creation of new jobs in 2019 for the second year in a row, according to a survey of company heads conducted by the National Bank of Ukraine (NBU) in the fourth quarter of 2018. According to the website of the central bank, the growth of business activity is expected at enterprises of all types of economic activity, while the most optimistic enterprises are in the processing industry.
In the regional context, optimistic moods are preserved by companies from all regions, except for Kirovohrad. Enterprises from Ternopil and Lviv regions have the highest expectations.
“Expectations of high growth rates of economic activity are based primarily on the forecast of an increase in the total volume of sales of own produce, as well as investment spending on machinery and equipment,” the report said.
According to the National Bank, one-third of respondents expect that production will grow, and every second company believes that it will at least remain at the current level. The growth of the total sales of products and the improvement of the financial and economic state is predicted by respondents of all types of economic activity, except for enterprises of power and water supply sectors. Trade and processing enterprises have the highest expectations.
A drop in frequency on the synchronously interconnected Continental Europe system was registered on January 10, 2019 at around 21.00 and the causes of this drop are still under investigation by the European Network of Transmission System Operators for Electricity (ENTSO-E). ENTSO-E gave this information on Wednesday, January 16. The frequency drop was sufficient to alert the TSOs but did not at any moment endanger security of supply, the network said.
A mismeasurement on lines between Germany and Austria was identified and corrected by TenneT Germany. However, this mismeasurement cannot explain the frequency drop on January 10. The investigation, which is still on-going, is reviewing the significant variation in European production around 21.00 which coincided with changes in trade between different countries.
“Given the current automation process of Ukraine’s new electricity market, this incident forces us to seriously think about the quality of software and the timing of its testing. The synchronous area of the integrated power grid of Ukraine is much less than ENTSO-E and the consequences of software errors and inconsistencies more serious than just stopping the trade,” Chief Expert on technological systems, Head of the commercial accounting management group of national energy company Ukrenergo Oleksandr Karpenko said on his Facebook page.
As reported, the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine at the end of December 2018 approved an action plan for the harmonization of the united power grid of Ukraine with ENTSO-E.
