The Vodafone Ukraine mobile operator expanded its 4G network in 18 Ukrainian regions in August 2020.
According to company’s press service, in particular, the operator has launched 4G coverage in 660 settlements of Vinnytsia, Volyn, Dnipropetrovsk, Donetsk, Zhytomyr, Zakarpattia, Ivano-Frankivsk, Kyiv, Kirovohrad, Lviv, Odesa, Poltava, Rivne, Ternopil, Kherson, Khmelnytsky, Cherkasy and Chernivtsi regions over the past month.
To date, according to the data given, Vodafone Ukraine provides 4G coverage to 80% of Ukrainians.
Kyivstar mobile operator has switched on 266 new 4G base stations, improving communications in 1,260 settlements in 18 regions of Ukraine, where 632,000 people live.
According to the press service of the operator, in particular, 4G coverage in Zhytomyr region extended by 382 settlements, in Khmelnytsky region by 245, in Vinnytsia region by 236, Lviv region by 170, and in Chernihiv region by 51.
Kyivstar notes that the increase in the 4G coverage area has become possible as a result of the use of frequencies in the 900 MHz range, which allows mobile operators to quickly reach sparsely populated areas with communications. To this end, in June 2020, mobile operators began to exchange radio frequencies in the 900 MHz range.
The company plans to provide access to 4G for 90% of the Ukrainian population in two years.
Kyivstar mobile operator has extended 4G network coverage in 20 regions of Ukraine, connecting 344 more settlements, the company’s press service has said.
The operator, in particular, connected the towns of Tokmak (Zaporizhia region), Soledar (Donetsk region), Svaliava (Zakarpattia region), Pogrebysche (Vinnitsa region), Belz (Lviv region), as well as hundreds of small villages.
Currently, according to the company, due to the increase in 4G communications territory, more than 80% of Ukrainian residents can take advantage of high-speed mobile Internet access in the Kyivstar network.
Since the launch of the 4G communications by the operator in April 2018, more than 10 million subscribers have already taken advantage of the new technology services. During this period, the consumption of mobile Internet in the Kyivstar network increased from 325 to 649 PB.
In the 4G communications network, each subscriber on average uses 10 GB of traffic per month, which is almost twice as much as on a 3G network.
Kyivstar is the largest Ukrainian telecommunications operator. It provides communications and data services based on a wide range of mobile and fixed technologies, including 3G. By the end of 2018, its services were used by about 26.4 million mobile subscribers and about 900,000 fixed Internet customers.
The shareholder of Kyivstar is the international group VEON (formerly VimpelCom Ltd.). The shares of the group are listed on the NASDAQ Stock Exchange (New York).
The introduction of 4G communication in subway is the issue of the national scale, it is possible to implement the project in due time, according to participants in a meeting devoted to the launch of 4G communication in Kyiv’s subway held by the Kyiv City Council with representatives of the Kyiv City Administration, the Ministry of Digital Transformation, the Verkhovna Rada, municipal enterprises, mobile communications operators and Internet associations.
“The introduction of 4G communication in subway is a national issue. The law must be implemented. There are legal processes that must be followed. If we combine the efforts of all participants in this process, the project will be implemented within the announced time frame,” advisor to the Mayor of Kyiv Maksym Bakhmatov said.
According to him, now all important technical aspects have been agreed with the subway, and the operators have provided the required technical documentation.
“Operators have already imported the first consignments of special equipment for building a network into the country and are waiting for legal grounds to begin installation work in the subway. The full-fledged implementation of the investment project depends on making a decision by the Kyiv City Council on the fee for telecom access to municipal property,” Corporate & Regulatory Affairs Director at Kyivstar Oleksandr Kogut.
According to the plan, the launch of 4G communications at the first subway stations, namely Akademmistechko, Zhytomyrska, Sviatoshyn, Syrets, Dorohozhychi, Heroiv Dnipra, Minska and Obolon, is expected in March 2020. Until the beginning of 2021, high-speed mobile communications should work at all stations and tunnels of the Kyiv subway.
The cost of the launch of 4G mobile communication in Kyiv’s subway by three leading mobile communication operators Kyivstar, Vodafone Ukraine and lifecell is estimated at $20 million, Kyivstar President Alexander Komarov has said. “In the first quarter of 2020, we will launch the first stations if everything moves as it is now,” he told reporters at a briefing in Kyiv.
Kyivstar Chief Marketing Officer Pavel Daniman said that the project is equally funded by all three operators.
Komarov has connected great progress in the implementation of this project recently with the appointment of Maksym Bakhmatov as adviser to Kyiv Mayor Vitali Klitschko.
According to the president of Kyivstar, access to the municipal infrastructure remains a ‘narrow neck:’ for the project to start on schedule, the Kyiv Council still needs to approve telecom access tariffs.
Daniman said that the implementation of 2G and 4G communications will be carried out from the outer stations, as this is due to technology, and covering all stations will require some time due to the ability to work only a few hours at night.
The start of the 4G network in Kyiv subway is scheduled for the first quarter of 2020, advisor to Kyiv Mayor Maksym Bakhmatov said. According to him, in particular, it is planned to first connect the following subway stations in the 4G network: Akademmistechko, Zhytomyrska, Sviatoshyn, Nyvky, Heroiv Dnipra, Minska, Obolon, Syrets, and Dorohozhychi and Lukianivska, and at the end of 2020 or the beginning of 2021 to connect all stations and tunnels.
According to Bakhmatov, to date, negotiations have already been held and a common implementation scheme has been approved with the key mobile operators Vodafone Ukraine, Kyivstar and lifecell.
At the same time, he said that for the implementation of the project it is still necessary that the municipal enterprise Kyiv Metropoliten signs technical conditions, and the Kyiv City Council approves tariffs for telecom access to municipal transport facilities of the city. In addition, Huawei Ukraine needs to review the subway sites, develop and coordinate a working project for 4G implementation, conduct expert reviews by the relevant government services, and Kyiv Metropoliten and operators to prepare, coordinate and sign an access agreement, then sign a common document with Huawei Ukraine about the start of work.
