Datagroup-Volya, one of the largest fixed-line telecommunications and digital services operators, has decided to invest about UAH 100 million in replacing fixed-line Internet technologies with GPON in Kharkiv, CEO Mykhailo Shelemba said on Tuesday at an event dedicated to the participation of Ukrainian companies in the development of the UN Global Compact network in Ukraine.
“Initially, Kharkiv was in the second stage of the plan to replace fixed Internet networks and develop GPON. An additional budget has been allocated to implement the tasks,” said Shelemba.
The CEO of Datagroup-Volya said that by the end of 2024, 40-50 thousand subscribers will be transferred to GPON.
“We will do our best. Kharkiv is a big city, we have an extensive network there, but we will throw all our resources at it and do everything possible to ensure that as many Kharkiv residents as possible have access to fixed-line internet with energy-efficient GPON technology by winter. The work in Kharkiv will continue in winter,” Shelemba assured.
According to him, subscribers will be transferred to GPON free of charge, but the work requires a visit of a technician to replace the equipment on the client’s side.
Vinnytsia, part of Kyiv and most of Lviv are also in the first phase of Datagroup-Vola’s network replacement plan, Shelemba said.
Earlier it was reported that Datagroup-Volya plans to invest UAH 1.5 billion in GPON development over three years.
Kyivstar, Ukraine’s largest Internet provider by subscribers, continues to secure its Home Internet service in case of power outages. In 2023, the company invested more than UAH 200 million to provide uninterruptible power supplies for Home Internet. It will invest an additional UAH 50-70 million by the end of February 2024. The provider also continues to actively launch GPON Internet in different cities of Ukraine.
Kyivstar employees started connecting the Home Internet network to uninterruptible power supplies (UPS) in October 2022 and will continue to do so to provide 700 thousand subscribers with Internet access even in the event of a power outage. This modernization will allow the Home Internet network to operate in the absence of power for up to 5 hours.
In total, the service users will be provided with equipment for uninterrupted operation in 44 cities of Ukraine. In total, the provider plans to cover more than 22.3 thousand addresses where UPS will be installed. 180 specialists are involved in the process of installing, checking and testing equipment throughout Ukraine.
Kyivstar also started connecting the Internet using GPON technology at the end of 2023. In 2024, the company plans to partially modernize and replace existing technologies with GPON in some cities. This connection technology is more energy efficient.
“In the context of short- and medium-term outages, GPON can provide consumers with Internet access for longer, including because we build lines from base stations with mobile diesel generators. And as long as we have the human resources and the ability to supply fuel and components to keep the generator running at the base station, users connected via GPON technology will have the Internet signal,” commented Sergiy Sukhoruk, Head of Fixed Line Communications.
About Kyivstar
Kyivstar is Ukraine’s largest electronic communications operator, serving more than 24 million mobile subscribers and more than 1.1 million Home Internet subscribers as of September 2023. The company provides services using a wide range of mobile and fixed technologies, including 4G, Big Data, Cloud solutions, cybersecurity services, digital TV, etc. Kyivstar helps subscribers, society and the country to overcome the challenges of wartime. Since the beginning of the full-scale war, the company has allocated more than UAH 1.4 billion in aid for the humanitarian needs of the Armed Forces, society and subscribers. Kyivstar’s sole shareholder is the international VEON Group (headquartered in the Netherlands). The Group’s shares are listed on NASDAQ (New York) and Euronext (Amsterdam). Kyivstar has been operating in Ukraine for 25 years and is recognized as the largest taxpayer in the telecom market, the best employer and a socially responsible company.
ENERGY INDEPENDENCE, GPON, Home Internet, INVESTMENTS, KYIVSTAR
