The big three of Ukrainian mobile operators predicts that the 4G communications technology for the 1800 MHz band could be launched in July 2018, representatives of all three mobile operators told reporters after an auction held on Tuesday.
CEO of mobile operator lifecell Ismet Yazici said that his operator is ready to launch 4G communications in July, as soon as conversion of radio frequencies is finished.
“We will launch in the 1800 MHz band in July. Nobody has the right to launch it until July. Everyone should start simultaneously. Now it will be a frequency exchange. This is a difficult and complicated operation. I’m not even sure that Ukraine had precedents of such a grand exchange frequencies,” Kyivstar President Peter Chernyshov said.
He said that from the point of view of infrastructure, Kyivstar has everything ready to launch 4G in the1800 MHz frequency band.
CEO of Vodafone Ukraine Olha Ustinova also said that the network of her operator is ready for the launch of 4G communication.
“I predict that in the 2600 MHz band we will launch it at the end of March, if nothing happens. In the 1800 MHz band – early July,” she said.
Previously, all operators had forecasted that 4G communications would be launched late March or early April.
Ukrainian pharmaceutical manufacturers must undergo prequalification of the WHO (World Health Organization) to participate in international tenders, United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) Country Director in Ukraine Janthomas Hiemstra has said.
“Ukrainian companies will have to compete at the international level. Now Ukrainian companies will have to upgrade their standards to international standards, which means they can compete not only at our standards, they can compete internationally. They can start exporting. That’s, actually, very good news for Ukrainian companies – to live up to international standards and start producing for the rest of the world as well,” he said in an interview with Interfax-Ukraine.
Hiemstra noted that in tenders held by international organizations, in particular, UNDP, “Ukrainian producers have to compete at the international level as well.”
Some foreign medicines are cheaper than Ukrainian ones, but in this case international confirmation of quality is very important. In the world, the standards of the World Health Organization (the so-called prequalification) have been developed, but Ukrainian producers have not been able yet to adopt these standards, he said.
“For the last 20-30 years Ukrainian pharmaceutical companies were mostly producing for Ukraine. So they didn’t have to live up to international standards,” he added.
The Lviv international airport increased passenger flow by almost 50% in February 2018, to 71,000 people. “Based on the results of the activities of the state-owned enterprise Lviv International Airport, in February 2018, 71,000 passengers took advantage of air transportation, which is 47.9% more than in February 2017 (48,000 passengers) .The number of flights made is 868, which is 37.1% more than during the same period last year (633),” the airport reported on its Facebook page on Monday.
In January-February 2018, passenger traffic grew by 47% compared to the same period last year (106,500 passengers) and reached 156,600 passengers. The number of flights increased 38.1%, from 1,348 to 1,861
The establishment of the national procurement agency in Ukraine is a lengthy process and can take up to five years, UNDP Country Director in Ukraine Janthomas Hiemstra has stated. “A very good work has been done so far supported by many knowledgeable and international support agencies. And the trouble with establishing a brand new agency is that, I mean anywhere in the world, this takes something between two and five years because … [there are] so many complications. So that is a long-term process. And I don’t think this can be done any faster in Ukraine,” he said in an interview with Interfax-Ukraine.
According to the expert, UNDP together with the Ministry of Health started working on the creation of the national procurement agency in 2017.
At the same time, he noted UNDP and the Ministry of Health discussed the situation that the national procurement agency won’t be created, because, according to the legislation, 2018 is the last year when international organizations purchase drugs, but he did not specify the results of this discussion. “The particularly tricky thing with establishing this agency is that it will need to be a Ukrainian agency … [and] the systems, the organization and the people … need to be very strong against corruption,” he added.
Passenger flow at the Kharkiv international airport grew by 33% in February 2018 year-over-year, to 53,400 people, the press service of DCH that manages the airport via New Systems AM.
The share of passenger traffic on international flights was 74%. The most popular destinations in February 2018 were Istanbul (Pegasus, Turkish Airlines, Atlasglobal), Kyiv (UIA), Sharm El Sheikh (Windrose, Azur Air Ukraine, Bravo Airways, YanAir, UIA), Warsaw (LOT), Tel Aviv (UIA) and Minsk (Belavia).
The Kharkiv airport in 2017 increased passenger traffic to 806,100 people (in 2016 this figure was 599,700 people).
In Janary 2018, the company’s passenger flow was 59,500 people, which is 25% more than for the same period in 2017 (47,500 people).
Kharkiv airport has a runway 2,500 meters long and 50 meters wide. There are two passenger terminals with the capacity of 100 and 650 people on its territory.
