“Since February 2022, Kyivstar, the largest Ukrainian telecommunications operator, has expanded its 4G coverage to more than 4.4 thousand settlements, and today its high-speed mobile Internet is available to more than 95.6% of the population in the government-controlled territory of Ukraine, up from 94.7% a year ago.
“To achieve such results, more than 18,700 modernization works were carried out and more than 7,000 new base stations were built during the full-scale invasion alone,” the company said in a press release on Thursday.
In early December 2023, Kyivstar reported that since February 2022, the coverage area of the 4G network has increased by almost 4 thousand settlements, for which the telecom operator has built 1.4 thousand new 4G base stations and updated the existing equipment by 12 thousand base stations.
It is noted that the highest 4G coverage rates are in Kyiv – 99% and Dnipro regions – 98%.
It is noted that Kyivstar currently has the largest number of 4G base stations located in Ukraine.
“The expansion of 4G coverage continues even in small towns and villages throughout Ukraine, as well as along highways. In particular, in 2024, 4G coverage was launched in 15 new settlements in Ivano-Frankivsk region, 36 in Lviv region and 38 in Vinnytsia region,” the release said.
According to the release, 225 new technology sites were built along the highways in 2024, which increased the quality of 4G coverage from more than 12 thousand km to more than 12.8 thousand km of international and national roads since December.
“Kyivstar reminded that over the next five years (from 2023 to 2027) it plans to invest $1 billion in the development and restoration of Ukraine’s digital infrastructure, as announced at the International Conference on the Restoration of Ukraine in June 2024. In particular, the additional radio frequency spectrum in the 2100 and 2300 MHz bands, for which the company paid UAH 1.43 billion at the November 19 auction held by the NCCC regulator, will be a significant boost to 4G coverage.
According to the press release, the main advantages of 4G are high data transfer speeds, stable connections and higher network capacity, which provide more comfortable conditions for users to access online services, which is important for remote work, education and telemedicine.
As reported, the number of Kyivstar 4G users increased by 4.3% in the third quarter of 2024 to 15.3 million, or 65.4% of the total subscriber base, up 4.8% percentage points year-on-year.
At the same time, Kyivstar’s mobile subscriber base decreased by 3.3% year-on-year to 23.3 million in the third quarter. The number of Ukrainians living outside Ukraine had an impact on the subscriber base, the quarterly report said.
Kyivstar’s revenue in January-September 2024 increased by 4.7% to UAH 26.86 billion, while EBITDA decreased by 2.6% to UAH 15.13 billion.
Kyivstar, the largest mobile operator in Ukraine, intends to invest UAH 1.43 billion in the 1940-1945/2130-2135 MHz and 2355-2395 MHz radio frequency spectrum, the company’s press service said on Tuesday.
It is also specified that the company’s receipt of additional radio frequency spectrum for use for 15 years will significantly enhance its ability to expand 4G coverage and improve the quality of services in all regions of the country.
The company noted the important role of Kyivstar in the development of the electronic communications industry in Ukraine, in particular in the implementation of 4G. The press service reminded that it was Kyivstar that offered the state an innovative approach to solving the problem of fragmented frequency spectrum: in 2018, the company supported the proposal of the national regulator, returning the 1800 MHz frequency band to the state. This made it possible to hold a transparent auction, which resulted in UAH 5.43 billion for the state budget and high-quality 4G coverage for consumers across the country.
In 2020, Kyivstar voluntarily returned the 900 MHz frequency band to the state free of charge for the second time.
“To further eliminate the digital divide between urban and rural areas, it was important to deploy 4G in the lower 900 MHz frequency band, which allows us to provide wider coverage, especially along roads and in remote areas. However, spectrum shortages and fragmentation in this band also slowed down the technological development of the market,” Kyivstar’s press service said.
The company’s CEO Oleksandr Komarov expressed gratitude to the National Commission for the State Regulation of Electronic Communications, Radio Frequency Spectrum and Postal Services (NCCS), the Ministry of Digital Transformation and the state for preparing and holding a transparent auction for the allocation of frequencies in the 2100-2300-2600MHz spectrum, which will allow to develop infrastructure and improve the quality of mobile services for subscribers.
“The auction for licenses to use the radio frequency spectrum is an important step in the development of Ukraine’s electronic communications industry and evidence that the war does not stop investments in state assets, and their effective management can bring significant funds to the budget,” Kyivstar’s press service quoted Komarov as saying.
The company also clarified that participation in the auction for licenses to use the radio frequency spectrum in the 2024 bands is part of the investment program of Kyivstar and its parent company VEON, according to which it is planned to attract $1 billion to the Ukrainian economy in 2023-2027.
Earlier it was reported that the National Commission held an auction for the use of mobile frequencies. “Kyivstar, Vodafone-Ukraine (VF-Ukraine) and lifecell (Lifecell) received new frequencies in the 2100, 2300 and 2600 MHz bands for 15 years, offering a total of UAH 2 billion 894.734 million for them at an initial total price of UAH 2 billion 871.531 million.
In accordance with the terms of the technology-neutral nationwide licenses established by the NCC, each of the winners undertook to ensure the use of the received frequency band at at least 1,500 base stations within 24 months from the date of the license’s commencement, and at least 500 base stations within the first 12 months.
“Kyivstar acquired the right to use the frequencies in the 1940-1945/2130-2135 MHz band (without Kyiv) for 15 years for UAH 448 million 500 thousand, and in the 2355-2395 MHz band for UAH 994 million 800 thousand.
In July-September 2023, Ukraine’s largest mobile operator Kyivstar increased its 4G network coverage, built 600 new base stations and modernized 1.5 thousand base stations, its press service reports.
“In the third quarter of 2023, Kyivstar’s team built another 600 new 4G base stations and modernized almost 1.5 thousand mobile base stations. Another 54 settlements were connected to the 4G network. Currently, Kyivstar’s 4G service is available to 94.7% of the population in the government-controlled areas,” the company said in a statement.
It is also reported that Kyivstar’s capital expenditures for this period exceeded UAH 3.7 billion, which is why more than 99% of the communication network in the government-controlled territory is operating normally. The company plans to invest $600 million in the development of new communication technologies over the next three years.
According to the operator, in the third quarter of this year, subscribers increased the use of mobile Internet services by 17.7% compared to the same period last year. At the same time, the number of 4G users grew by 13.1% to 13.7 million, which was made possible by the development of the 4G network and the proposed tariffs with more megabytes.
At the same time, it is noted that the total number of subscribers in the third quarter decreased by 1.1% due to the impact of war factors, including migration outside the country and the temporary occupation of a number of settlements.
According to the press service, Kyivstar continued to develop digital services for online education, health care, and Kyivstar TV digital television services. According to the company, the number of subscribers using multiservice services increased by 21.4% in the third quarter.
In addition, Kyivstar continued to implement charity projects to help subscribers and Ukrainian society. In particular, the project “We live here” is being implemented, which aims to clear the territory of Ukraine of explosive devices. Thanks to the company’s services, UAH 120 million was raised for this project. At the same time, the operator’s contribution directly exceeded UAH 20 million.
Earlier it was reported that Kyivstar would focus on the development of LTE technology (Long Term Evolution is a wireless network with increased requirements and a bandwidth of 10 Mbps or more.) By 2026, the coverage level in Ukraine will be brought up to 98%.
The Kyivstar mobile operator since February 2022 has upgraded 3,000 base stations in small towns and villages with a population of up to 2,000 people by connecting LTE-900 technology to them, the company’s press service reported on Monday.
“Thanks to this, the network capacity has been increased and the quality of 4G has been improved in 3,500 settlements in 19 regions of Ukraine. Among them are Vinnytsia, Dnipropetrovsk, Zhytomyr, Zakarpattia, Ivano-Frankivsk, Kyiv, Lviv, Odesa, Poltava, Sumy and other regions of Ukraine where no active hostilities are taking place,” the statement said.
The operator notes that also in 2022, some 140 new base stations were built. And to improve the quality of communication in regions of intensive data traffic, the development of frequencies in the 2300 MHz range, received from the state for the period of wartime in the country, began.
According to Kyivstar, since the beginning of the war, almost 5 million of the company’s subscribers have moved from large cities to small towns within their region, and another 4 million have moved from other regions to the western regions of Ukraine. In this regard, the operator increases the network capacity and improves the quality of radio coverage in places where Internet traffic is growing.
“Since the outbreak of hostilities, the telecom operator’s specialists have eliminated thousands of emergencies that arose as a result of damage to the telecommunications infrastructure, replaced almost 30,000 meters of destroyed fiber-optic lines, carried out 3,500 repairs on cell towers. More than 90% of the telecom infrastructure is operating normally, providing communications and high-speed Internet for the needs of subscribers, the public sector and private companies,” the company said.
In September, the mobile operator lifecell connected 377 more settlements to 4G, where a total of 134,000 people live.
According to the company’s press service on Monday, out of the indicated number of settlements in 376 settlements up to 5,000 people live and in one – up to 25,000 people.
The operator also notes that as of the end of September, the operator’s 4G coverage is available in 12,889 settlements, where more than 28 million Ukrainians live.
With the network roll-out, the consumption of mobile Internet has also increased: last month lifecell subscribers used 56% more 4G traffic on an annual basis.
In September, lifecell users spent 11% more time on social networks, 31% more watched videos on YouTube and 42% more often communicated in instant messengers, compared to the same period in 2020.
At the same time, Ukrainians did not cut their calls to each other: the amount of voice traffic in lifecell network grew by 6% on an annual basis.
In Ukraine, lifecell is the third largest mobile operator.
The Kyivstar mobile operator in January-June 2021 launched 4G in 2,634 settlements, where about 1.2 million people live, the company’s press service said.
Kyivstar notes that by the end of the year it plans to provide at least 89% of the entire population of Ukraine with high-speed Internet.
“Due to the fact that in July last year, Kyivstar began using 900 MHz frequencies to expand its 4G network, it was possible to significantly increase the coverage in rural areas. First of all, in small villages with 2,000 inhabitants or even less. Now about 12 million villagers have access to 4G, and in cities – 22 million people,” the statement reads.
According to the head of regional marketing of Kyivstar, Mykhailo Mykoliuk, since the beginning of 2021, the operator has installed almost 3,000 new base stations with 4G.
In total, Kyivstar’s 4G network currently operates in more than 15,000 cities and villages of Ukraine. And by the end of the year, Kyivstar plans to increase their total number to 16,000.
