An agreement on the development of electronic communications, 5G corridors and cooperation in the field of digitalization between Ukraine and Romania was signed by Mykhailo Fedorov, Vice Prime Minister for Innovation, Education, Science and Technology Development and Minister of Digital Transformation, and Bogdan-Gruia Ivan, Minister of Research, Innovation and Digitization.
“This will allow the exchange of experience between Ukrainian and Romanian specialists, as well as the implementation of joint projects for the development of telecommunications infrastructure, digitalization, and cybersecurity,” the Ministry of Digital Transformation of Ukraine (MinCyber) said in a statement on Thursday.
According to the press release, the parties agreed to jointly develop 5G corridors between Ukraine and Romania, cloud infrastructure for public e-services, restore and modernize digital infrastructure affected by Russian aggression, increase the resilience and security of information and communication technologies, and strengthen cybersecurity of national networks and digital infrastructure.
The Ministry of Digital Transformation noted that the agreement will allow Ukraine to participate in EU financial support programs.
The auction for the sale of frequencies for 5G communication will be held in Ukraine in 2022, Minister of Digital Transformation Mykhailo Fedorov has said.
“We have already launched research work. Next year we plan to put up frequencies [for 5G communication] at tenders for the operators,” he said during the Kyiv International Economic Forum on Thursday.
According to Fedorov, the active introduction of this communication technology in large cities of the country will begin in two years.
“I believe that at first it will be most relevant for industry, and then large cities, industrial centers will pick up, and gradually 5G will spread throughout the country,” he said.
Ericsson has launched a 5G demo center in its own office in Kyiv to demonstrate scenarios for the use of fifth generation mobile networks for digitalization of various industries.
As noted in the company’s report, on the basis of the demo center, it is possible to test new developments and products, as well as services for both business and end users of mobile communications.
The main elements of 4G and 5G networks, an autonomous dedicated 5G network, which includes a small core, Router 6000 for IP connectivity and a radio access system using Ericsson Radio Dot System have been installed and fully integrated in the demo center.
“The network operability is ensured in a continuous mode [24/7]. This will allow conducting tests as soon as possible, supporting most possible scenarios and organizing demonstrations using this system,” the report says.
On the basis of the center, industrial enterprises, mobile operators, innovative start-ups, as well as other players in the telecom market will be able to familiarize themselves with and test 4G/5G solutions for both business and end users of mobile services.
“5G networks will serve as the foundation for the development of the digital economy in the future. High-quality digital infrastructure is needed by users, business and the economy of the state. By investing in the opening of a 5G demo center in Ukraine, we have combined international expertise and the latest solutions from Ericsson to open up new opportunities for the development of advanced technologies and digital innovations in the country,” Yaroslav Nitsak, Managing Director of Ericsson in Ukraine, Georgia and Armenia, is quoted in the message.
According to the company, the center is open for the following purposes:
– demonstration of scenarios for using a dedicated 5G technological network, such as remote support, monitoring and control of the production process using continuous streaming of 360 video data in real time between objects;
– piloting of voice services of critical communication systems (Mission Critical Push-to-Talk) and demonstration of the work of the dispatch center, which monitors and controls the high priority emergency communication system;
– demonstration of the technological features of the fifth generation networks for mobile operators: network segmentation, high-speed data transmission, low latency;
– creation of a platform for piloting new developments and products using 5G modems for high-speed data transmission.
As reported earlier, the mobile operator Kyivstar switched to a new business IT system (billing) used for prepaid customers (over 80% of the operator’s client base), the solution was developed by the Swedish company Ericsson.
From October 2020 to January 2021, the use of 5G smartphones in Ukraine increased from 31,000 to 194,000.
The data was received by the Ministry of Digital Transformation of Ukraine together with mobile network operators, according to the ministry’s website.
The ministry said that the number of smartphones with 4G support also continues to grow, since several thousand settlements are connected monthly to this technology by mobile network operators. Therefore, owners of almost 31 million smartphones can use 4G high-speed Internet.
“We see a situation when Ukrainians, having 4G smartphones and the necessary coverage, continue using the old SIM cards with 3G. We urge subscribers to replace their cards with those that support 4G, because this data transfer technology is 10-15 times faster than the Internet of the older generation. Replacement is free with each operator and takes several minutes. After that, the quality of the video call and the speed of downloading files will be much higher,” the press service said, citing Head of the mobile Internet development group of the Ministry of Digital Transformation Stanislav Prybytko.
Kyivstar, the leading Ukrainian mobile operator, has announced the demonstration of a base station for 5G networks and equipment testing, which allows increasing the capacity of one LTE cell by 6.5 times.
“After the certification and registration of new equipment in Ukraine is completed, the company will implement it in places with high concentration of mobile traffic, for example, stadiums, concert venues, and places of public events,” the report says.
According to the report, the base station is equipped with the new Massive MIMO technology (a multipath active antenna system), a key technology for 5G communications networks. The station is installed for testing in the Kyivstar network in the Kyiv Polytechnic Institute (KPI).
The company explained that this base station uses a built-in antenna with 32 transceivers, which operate simultaneously, which allows generating multiple digital streams and multiplying the capacity of the base station.
Kyivstar noted that in March 2019 its subscribers used more mobile Internet (45 Petabytes) than in the whole of 2016, and in the period from 2015 to 2018 the volume of data traffic in the Kyivstar network increased by 1,500%
