Ookla (the United States), the developer of the Speedtest service for determining the speed of mobile Internet connection, recognized Kyivstar as a mobile operator with the highest average mobile Internet speed and the largest network coverage in Ukraine in the second half of 2021, according to an Ookla Speedtest report published on the Speedtest website.
According to it, in Ukraine, in July-December 2021, the company conducted more than 1.113 million tests, in which subscribers of all mobile operators participated. In particular, the total number of tests on the Kyivstar network amounted to 532,488 with an average download speed (download) of 31.33 Mbps and data transmission (upload) of 14.59 Mbps.
Some 283,798 tests were carried out on the Vodafone Ukraine network with an average download speed of 29.18 Mbps, transmission – 11.69 Mbps; on the lifecell network – 276,225 tests with an average download speed of 12.36 Mbps and an upload speed of 6.26 Mbps.
According to Ookla, Kyivstar’s Speed Score was 41.25 (34.65 in the first half of 2021), Vodafone Ukraine – 38.60 (32.05), and lifecell – 16.05 (15.24). This indicator includes data on the speed of Download and Upload data, regardless of the standard.
In general, in Ukraine, the application was launched on 293,180 unique devices, of which the top five in terms of popularity includes iPhone 11 (9,325 tests), iPhone 7 (7,922 tests), Redmi Note 8 Pro (7,537 tests), iPhone Xr (6,999 tests) and iPhone Pro Max 5G (6,741 tests).
In addition, as noted in the Ookla report, Kyivstar received the highest number of points when testing coverage in Speedtest – 623 (versus 595 in the first half of 2021). This assessment is formed on an analysis of the number of locations where operators provide their services and the quality of mobile communications in each of them. Vodafone Ukraine got 488 (versus 493 points), and lifecell – 338 (versus 321).
At the same time, compared to the results of the first half of 2021, the results of testing the networks of Ukrainian mobile operators deteriorated slightly. So, in January-June 2021, on the Kyivstar network, an average download speed was 33.2 Mbps, and an upload speed – 15.7 Mbps. On the Vodafone Ukraine network – 30.37 Mbps and 13.73 Mbps; on the lifecell network – 15.72 Mbps and 8.15 Mbps respectively.
At the same time, over the past year, Ukraine has significantly improved its position in the Speedtest Global Index, Ookla’s global rating of mobile Internet speed, climbing 15 positions at once, from 77th place in January 2021 to 62nd position in January 2022.
The increase in the average speed of mobile Internet in Ukraine is associated with an increase in the number of 4G users, according to Kyivstar.
Ookla is a leader in testing and analyzing fixed and mobile internet speeds. Every day, thanks to the application, users around the world perform more than 10 million tests. At the end of 2018 and 2019, Kyivstar has already been marked by the company as an operator with the highest average mobile Internet speed in Ukraine.
The State Service for Special Communications and Information Protection of Ukraine has signed a memorandum of cooperation with Kyivstar mobile network operator.
According to a Monday report of the operator, cooperation is aimed at increasing the level of cyber security, protection of critical infrastructure facilities and the introduction of new educational programs in this area.
“Combining the efforts of business and the state is a key component in the formation of a reliable cyber security system in Ukraine. Together we must work out transparent and understandable rules, taking into account the best European and world practices, according to which both representatives of state bodies and private companies will work,” Chairman of the State Service for Special Communications and Information Protection Yuriy Schyhol said.
In turn, Kyivstar considers it its goal to raise the level of awareness of users in cyberspace, cooperating with law enforcement agencies and joining the initiatives of the state.
“We support the development of partnership between the state and business, therefore, effective cooperation with the State Service for Special Communications in the field of cyber security and protection of critical infrastructure facilities is extremely important for Kyivstar. I am convinced that only through building such interaction it is possible to effectively counter modern challenges and threats in cyberspace,” President of Kyivstar Alexander Komarov said.
Cooperation between the State Service for Special Communications and Information Protection and Kyivstar, in particular, provides for:
– conducting scientific research on the issues of ensuring cyber security, development and operation of information and communication systems, protection of information and critical infrastructure facilities;
– assistance in creating a system of independent information security auditors;
– provision of advisory and methodological assistance regarding the assessment of the state of security, the audit of information resources, the assessment of compromise and vulnerability analysis of the IT infrastructure;
– participation in the creation of a system for the timely detection, prevention and neutralization of cyber threats;
Cooperation is also aimed at creating conditions for the development of modern cyber security technologies and their implementation in Ukraine, and at promoting the implementation of international cyber security programs in Ukraine.
Separately, the State Service for Special Communications and Kyivstar will make efforts to improve the level of digital awareness and the culture of safe behavior of Ukrainian citizens in the cyberspace.
CYBER SECURITY, KYIVSTAR, STATE SPECIAL COMMUNICATIONS SERVICE
The Kyivstar mobile network operator is preparing the network to offset possible risks in operation, including geopolitical ones.
“We are taking certain steps to prepare, despite the fact that it is very difficult to predict which scenarios will develop. Therefore, we have two priorities – our people, business continuity and the provision of communication services. We are looking at critical infrastructure, on how they are located, and we are taking certain steps to achieve geographic diversification across critical nodes. We are even investing money in this – and quite a lot – in order to achieve a radical increase in network resilience depending on scenarios in the horizon of several weeks,” Kyivstar President Alexander Komarov told Interfax-Ukraine.
He also said that the operator is implementing a number of steps aimed at increasing the flexibility of managing its network, depending on possible threats. This is the organization of stocks of fuel and lubricants for generators, with which the operator plans to maintain the operation of critical network nodes in the event of a power outage, the implementation of the ability to turn off certain areas in the absence of control over the network in some geographical areas.
As reported, Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba thanked his British counterpart Liz Truss for the decision to impose large-scale sanctions against the Russian Federation.
The U.K. continues to show leadership in global efforts to deter Russia from further aggression, he said.
The mobile network operator Kyivstar in the fourth quarter of 2021 increased its total revenue by 12.5% year-over-year, to UAH 7.537 billion, according to the company’s website.
According to the published data, for the specified period, Kyivstar increased EBITDA by 8.7% compared to the same period last year, to UAH 4.839 billion. At the same time, the EBITDA margin fell by 2.3 percentage points (pp), to 64.2%.
Total operating income grew by 12.3%, to UAH 6.993 billion.
In the fourth quarter of 2021, the use of mobile Internet per subscriber increased by an average of 20% compared to the same period in 2020, to 7.1 GB.
The use of international roaming services, in particular data transmission, also increased year-over-year. The number of Kyivstar subscribers using 4G services in its network grew by 30.5% compared to the fourth quarter of 2020, to 12.1 million.
The total number of Kyivstar mobile subscribers over the specified period rose by 1.2% compared to the fourth quarter of 2020, to 26.2 million subscribers.
Kyivstar fixed-line internet and TV revenues grew by 11.9% thanks to the 7.3% increase in the number of Home Internet service customers. The total number of clients of the Home Internet service in the fourth quarter of 2021 reached 1.2 million.
Kyivstar’s operating CAPEX in the fourth quarter of last year rose by 45.7%, to UAH 1.8 billion.
Kyivstar is the largest Ukrainian telecommunications operator. It provides communication and data transmission services based on a wide range of mobile and fixed-line technologies, including 3G. By the end of 2020, its services were used by about 25.9 million mobile subscribers and about 1.1 million fixed-line Internet customers.
Kyivstar’s shareholder is the international group VEON (formerly VimpelCom Ltd.). The group’s shares are listed on the NASDAQ stock exchange (New York).
The Kyivstar mobile operator at the end of December 2021 expanded its radio network coverage in seven regions of Ukraine by switching on 4G/LTE technology at another 26 base stations.
According to the press service of the company, as a result, residents of 49 settlements with a total population of 25,000 people will be able to use high-speed mobile Internet. These are the settlements of Lopatyntsi, Petrani, Malyshevka (Vinnytsia region), Budysche, Liubystok, Shampaniya (Cherkasy region), Krasny Kut, Toretske, Novoandriyivka (Donetsk), Yabluneve, Tuzhyliv, Dubove (Kyiv region), Zatyshne, Yakovlivka, Rzhavets (Kharkiv region).
Today the 4G Kyivstar network operates on the territory of 16,000 settlements of Ukraine.
“The company ends 2021 with high rates of 4G coverage in Ukraine. Already more than 90% of our compatriots can use access to new mobile technologies and get more benefits from high-quality communications,” director for regulatory support at Kyivstar Oleksandr Kohut said.
The telecoms operator plans to continue building new mobile networks and will focus on covering highways with 4G communications. In 2021, the company accelerated the construction of base stations along the key highways Kyiv-Kharkiv, Kyiv-Odesa, Kyiv-Lviv, Reshetylivka-Dnipro. To complete this project, the company invested in the construction of 33 new base stations and in the re-equipment of another 50 base stations. To date, the project for covering key roads with 4G communications is almost 90% completed.
“The digitalization of Ukraine requires the attraction of huge investments. It is for this purpose that a memorandum was signed between the government of Ukraine and mobile operators at the investment forum in the city of Mariupol in 2019, which provides for the establishment of transparent and predictable regulation and limitation of fiscal burden on mobile operators. In particular, a moratorium in increasing the key industry tax – rent for the use of radio frequency resources. We hope that in 2022 the relevant bill will be introduced by the government and supported by the parliament,” he added.
Kyivstar notes that from 2018 to today, the operator has invested more than UAH 20 billion in Ukraine – in the construction of LTE networks, the purchase of licenses, and the improvement of the quality of communication. Thanks to this, the number of subscribers using high-speed mobile Internet in 2021 increased by 32% – up to 12 million.
The users of modern smartphones are 18 million subscribers of the network of the mobile operator Kyivstar.
According to the press service of the company, the data are for the third quarter of 2021.
According to Kyivstar analytics, the number of network users who already have smartphones increased by 8% compared to the same period last year. Among them, about 16.6 million devices support 4G.
“For several years now, smartphones from Xiaomi (32%) and Samsung (27%) have been leading in popularity among Kyivstar customers. The next most common smartphones are Apple (13%), Huawei (9%) and Meizu (2%). Other phones make up 17%,” the report says.
At the same time, the company notes that only 1.4 million subscribers have smartphones that do not support 4G technology. Compared to 2020, there are half the number of such phones.
