Kyivstar, Ukraine’s largest mobile operator, intends to invest UAH 1.43 billion in the radio frequency spectrum 1940-1945/2130-2135 MHz and 2355-2395 MHz, the company’s press service said on Tuesday. At the same time, it is specified that obtaining additional radio frequency spectrum for 15 years will significantly strengthen the company’s capabilities to expand 4G coverage and improve the quality of services in all regions of the country.
The company emphasized the important role of Kyivstar in the development of the electronic communications industry in Ukraine, in particular in the introduction of 4G. The press service recalled that it was Kyivstar that offered the state an innovative approach to solving the problem of fragmented spectrum of frequencies – in 2018, the company supported the proposal of the national regulator, returning to the state the frequency band in the 1800 MHz range. This allowed for a transparent auction, which resulted in the state budget receiving UAH 5.43 billion and consumers receiving high-quality 4G coverage across the country.
In 2020, Kyivstar returned the frequency band in the 900 MHz band to the state for the second time voluntarily and free of charge.
“To further bridge the digital divide between urban and rural areas, it was important to deploy 4G also in the lower 900 MHz frequency band, which allows for wider coverage, especially along roads and in remote areas. But the spectrum deficit and fragmentation in this band slowed down the technological development of the market,” Kyivstar’s press service said.
The CEO of the company Oleksandr Komarov expressed gratitude to the National Commission carrying out state regulation in the spheres of electronic communications, radio frequency spectrum and provision of postal communication services (NKEC), the Ministry of Digital Transformation and the state for the preparation and holding of a transparent auction for the distribution of frequencies in the spectrum 2100-2300-2600MHz, which will allow to develop infrastructure and improve the quality of mobile communication services for subscribers.
“The auction for licenses to use the radio frequency spectrum is an important step in the development of the electronic communications industry in Ukraine and evidence that the war does not stop investment in state assets, and their effective management can bring significant funds to the budget,” the Kyivstar press service quoted Komarov as saying.
The company also specified that participation in the auction for licenses for the use of radio frequency spectrum in the bands of 2024 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 during 2023-2027.
Earlier it was reported that the NKEC held an auction for the provision of mobile frequencies for use. “Kyivstar“, ‘Vodafone-Ukraine’ (”VF-Ukraine“) and lifecell (”Lifecell”) received for use for 15 years new frequencies in the bands 2100, 2300 i 2600 MHz cumulatively offering for them 2 billion 894.734 million UAH at the initial total price of 2 billion 871.531 million UAH.
In accordance with the terms and conditions of technologically neutral nationwide licenses established by the NCCEC, each of the winners undertook to ensure the use of the received frequency band for at least 1.5 thousand base stations within 24 months from the license start date, and for the first 12 months – for at least 500 base stations.
“Kyivstar” acquired the right to use for 15 years the frequencies in the range 1940-1945/2130-2135 MHz (without Kiev) for UAH 448 million 500 thousand, in the range 2355-2395 MHz – for UAH 994 million 800 thousand.
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.
Revenues of Ukraine’s largest mobile operator Kyivstar increased by 4.7% to UAH 26.86 billion in January-September 2024, while in dollars they decreased by 4% to USD 674 million, the parent company VEON reported on Thursday.
For 9 months of 2024, the company reduced EBITDA by 2.6% to UAH 15.13 billion, and EBITDA margin by 4.2 percentage points to 56.4%.
In July-September, the operator’s revenue increased by 17.9% to UAH 10.25 billion, and by 4.8% to USD 250 million in terms of revenue in dollars. In the third quarter, the operator increased its EBITDA by 6.9% to UAH 5.92 billion, while reducing its EBITDA margin by 5.9 percentage points to 57.7%.
“Kyivstar’s revenue and EBITDA in the third quarter demonstrated strong growth, ensuring resilience and continuity despite a number of challenges, including power outages,” VEON said on its website.
Kyivstar’s capital investments in the third quarter increased by 62.5% to UAH 2.62 billion. Overall, since the beginning of the year, capital investments have increased by 57.5% to UAH 5.97 billion. The operator reportedly increased investments in sustainable communications for Ukraine and further development of 4G.
In addition, Kyivstar has deployed 2.3 thousand generators and 124 thousand batteries in Ukraine, which can ensure autonomous operation of base stations without power for four hours. In addition, Kyivstar installed more than 300 4G base stations in July-September as part of its 4G Everywhere program.
The number of Kyivstar 4G users grew by 4.3% to 15.3 million in the third quarter, accounting for 65.4% of the total subscriber base, up 4.8% 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 subscriber base was affected by the number of Ukrainians living outside Ukraine, the company said in a statement.
In the third quarter, the parent company VEON demonstrated a strong revenue growth of 9.8% year-on-year to $1.038 billion. EBITDA reached $438 million, down 1.5% year-on-year. The company’s investments in the third quarter increased by 51.2% to $198 million.
The total amount of cash and cash equivalents as of September 30, 2024 was $1,019 million (including $143 million related to banking operations in Pakistan and less $211 million in Ukrainian sovereign bonds classified as investments), of which $453 million was kept at the headquarters level.
Ukraine’s largest mobile operator Kyivstar and one of the largest volunteer foundations “Come Back Alive” have accumulated UAH 54.8 million as part of the fundraising for demining of Ukraine’s territories “We Live Here 2.0”.
“Demining of territories remains a critical issue to restore safe life in Ukraine. We plan to close the urgent needs of demining units to the amount of UAH 100 million, providing them with modern Ukrainian equipment,” Taras Chmut, director of the ‘Back Alive’ fund, was quoted as saying in a press release on Tuesday.
Kyivstar clarified that UAH 17.8 million of the mentioned amount was collected at the expense of subscribers who connected the charitable Superpower “Aid to the AFU” or SMS-subscription.
To support the collection, directly the mobile operator transferred 30 million UAH of its own funds.
“We are grateful to everyone who supported the initiative and made a contribution to demining the country, our goal is 100 million UAH. We call on all those who are not indifferent to join the initiative and support the sappers”, – commented CEO of ‘Kyivstar’ Alexander Komarov.
It is noted that the collected funds will be used to provide sappers of the AFU Support Force with Ukrainian-made robotic complexes, transportation and communications.
According to him, the collection includes the transfer of 16 reconnaissance and logistics robotic complexes “Tarakan” (64 vehicles), 8 robotic complexes “Termit” (32 vehicles), 28 vehicles, 4 maintenance workshops, 28 REB vehicles, 100 radios of various types, 1 Vampire drone with thermal imaging cameras for remote demining, as well as 96 drones of various types for sappers’ awareness and related equipment.
It is specified that also the first Ukrainian superpop for dog and cat owners – Bubibo – joined the collection, which within the framework of the project collects UAH 1 million and attracts cats and dogs to support the deminers.
Since 2022, Kyivstar, the largest mobile operator in Ukraine, has invested over UAH 1.9 billion in energy independence of the network and has started the second investment phase, which will include the installation of new batteries at base stations and industrial generators.
“Kyivstar, the largest electronic communications operator in Ukraine, continues to strengthen its investments in energy independence. Since 2022, the total amount of investments aimed at maintaining uninterrupted operation of the network in the face of possible power outages has amounted to more than UAH 1.9 billion,” Kyivstar’s press service said on Wednesday.
As of October 2024, 124 thousand new lithium batteries have been installed at Kyivstar base stations. The operation of key network facilities is supported by 2390 generators. More than 68% of the telecom operator’s network already has a four-hour backup power supply, the press service said.
For the Home Internet service, about 50,000 uninterruptible power supplies have been installed in 24,000 apartment buildings in 92 cities.
“The company also plans to re-backup fixed-line communications with powerful batteries and continues to deploy GPON technology, and from 2025 will build a network exclusively using this technology,” Kyivstar’s press service said.
In addition, the company has launched the second phase of investments, which includes the installation of 113 thousand new batteries at base stations and 1427 industrial generators. The process of installing additional equipment has already begun at technological sites throughout the country, the press service said.
Kyivstar’s goal is to provide 25% of the network with the ability to operate from generators and achieve a six-hour backup for all key facilities. Particular attention is paid to critical facilities identified by the National Security and Defense Council, which are provided with generating capacity to maintain communication for at least three days in the event of full-scale blackouts, the company said.
Earlier, Kyivstar President Oleksandr Komarov said that in the second quarter of 2025, the company plans to increase the battery life to six hours on 30% of the network. He said that up to 65% of the network can operate offline for up to four hours.
As of June 2024, Kyivstar served more than 23 million mobile subscribers and more than 1.1 million fixed-line Internet subscribers.
The company provides services using a wide range of mobile and fixed technologies, including 4G, Big Data, Cloud solutions, cybersecurity services, and digital TV.
Kyivstar’s revenues in April-June increased by 9.5% compared to April-June 2023 to UAH 9.425 billion, and by 0.4% in dollars to $236 million. EBITDA amounted to UAH 5.585 billion or $140 million. Operating profit (EBIT) in April-June this year amounted to UAH 4.16 billion, which is 10.5% better than in April-June 2023 and almost twice as much as in January-March 2024. In the second quarter, Kyivstar’s total operating income from mobile services increased by 8.7% to UAH 8.77 billion, including 10.8% to UAH 5.18 billion from data transmission, while income from fixed-line services increased by 16.4% to UAH 0.56 billion.
Kyivstar’s shareholder is the international VEON Group, whose shares are listed on the NASDAQ (New York) and Euronext (Amsterdam) stock exchanges. In June, VEON announced that it would increase its investment in Ukraine from the current $600 million to $1 billion over five years.
Source: https://interfax.com.ua
Revenue of Ukraine’s largest mobile operator Kyivstar in April-June this year increased by 9.5% compared to April-June 2023 to UAH 9.425 billion, and in dollars by 0.4% to $236 million, the company’s parent company VEON said in a report on Thursday.
“EBITDA increased by 9.8% yoy in local currency (+0.8% yoy in dollars) despite continued pressure from operating expenses in the second quarter of 2024, including electricity and fuel costs, as well as continued charitable donations in addition to employee support programs,” VEON said.
It is specified that EBITDA amounted to UAH 5.585 billion or $140 million. Compared to the first quarter of this year, when Kyivstar’s financial performance was significantly affected by the customer compensation program following a large-scale cyberattack in December 2023, revenue in hryvnia increased by 31.5% and EBITDA by 54%, while in dollars, the growth of these indicators was 26.1% and 47.9%, respectively.
According to the report, operating profit (EBIT) in April-June this year amounted to UAH 4.16 billion, which is 10.5% better than in April-June 2023 and almost twice as much as in January-March 2024.
In the second quarter, Kyivstar’s total operating income from mobile services increased by 8.7% to UAH 8.77 billion, including 10.8% from data transmission to UAH 5.18 billion, while income from fixed-line services increased by 16.4% to UAH 0.56 billion.
It is noted that the increase in profitability was achieved mainly due to the growth of mobile data revenues, supported by the careful implementation of cost control measures.
Kyivstar’s 4G customer base grew by 7.9% year-on-year to 14.1 million, and data usage per user increased by 11.1% to 11.3 GB per month, while voice traffic decreased by 4.5% to 540 minutes.
In general, the number of Kyivstar mobile subscribers in the second quarter of 2024 decreased by 2.9% compared to the same period in 2023 to 23.4 million, while ARPU (average monthly revenue from fixed-line voice services per subscriber) increased by 11.5% to UAH 122.9.
“Kyivstar explains the decline in its total mobile subscriber base by the number of Ukrainians living outside Ukraine.
“During 2024, Kyivstar recovered from the cyberattack in December 2023, with the subscriber base returning to pre-attack levels thanks to the successful implementation of a special customer retention program,” the report says.
It is also noted that the operator maintained access to key services, including digital healthcare, information and entertainment services, resulting in the number of Kyivstar’s multi-user subscribers increasing by 53.0% year-on-year, and revenues from multi-user services growing by 58.9%.
In particular, it is noted that Helsi, the country’s largest digital healthcare platform, continues to develop digital medicine in Ukraine: about 28 million registered patients (+11.1% compared to last year) have access to 1.6 thousand existing medical facilities and more than 38 thousand specialists active on the platform (+12.5% compared to last year).
It is specified that the number of downloads of the Helsi mobile application reached 8.2 million at the end of the quarter, which allowed customers to book 2.3 million appointments through the platform during the reporting period (+27.7% compared to the same period last year).
According to the report, Kyivstar TV streaming service ended the quarter with a 51.7% increase in monthly active users (MAUs) compared to the same period last year.
Kyivstar emphasized that thanks to the company’s efforts, almost 100% of its telecom network in the government-controlled area is operating normally, providing subscribers with communication and data services around the clock.
In Q2 2024, VEON generated revenues of $1.03 billion, up 12.1% year-on-year, with service revenue accounting for $987 million, up 11.3% year-on-year.
The telecom holding’s EBITDA increased by 10.6% year-on-year to $0.46 billion.
VEON’s revenue in national currencies increased by 15.1% and EBITDA by 13.9%. In addition to Ukraine, six other VEON subsidiaries showed revenue growth in Pakistan, Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan.
VEON’s subscriber base increased by 1% to 157.4 million in the second quarter. The number of 4G users reached 98.4 million (up 11.2%). The share of 4G users in the total subscriber base increased by 5.7 percentage points to 62.5%.
The group’s CAPEX increased by 5.8% to $181.4 million. The balance of cash and cash equivalents amounted to $722 million compared to $632 million as of March 2024. At the same time, the amount of funds decreased by 70% year-on-year.
VEON’s net debt increased by 17.6% to $3.2 billion in the second quarter.
VEON has maintained its forecast for the whole of 2024 for revenue growth in local currencies by 16-18% and EBITDA growth in local currencies by 18-20%.
