The mobile operator Kyivstar is starting to implement VoLTE (voice-over-LTE) technology in its 4G network, which will allow subscribers to make ordinary phone calls through a high-speed mobile Internet.
As noted in the operator’s statement on Tuesday, this technology will work throughout the country by the end of 2020, where the operator’s 4G network is provided.
At first, VoLTE will be available for contract subscribers who actively use most of Kyivstar’s services. And during 2021, the technology will become available to prepaid subscribers.
“In less than three years, 85% of Ukrainians gained access to 4G. In terms of construction rates, Kyivstar is ahead of even the countries of the European Union, which took an average of five years to get the same result. This is a great achievement of the company, which gives us the opportunity introduce new technologies, such as VoLTE. Due to this technology, not only residents of large cities, but also villages, will receive the best quality of voice communication. After all, it will work in a modern 4G network,” President of Kyivstar Oleksandr Komarov said.
The operator said that due to voice transmission via 4G, subscribers will receive better sound quality during calls, and the connection between them will be faster, since the smartphone will not switch between different standards.
The launch of the new technology throughout the country, where 4G from Kyivstar works, will be completed in December 2020.
“The next stage is that the ability to use this technology on subscribers’ smartphones, depends on the device manufacturers. After all, the peculiarity of VoLTE is that smartphone manufacturers separately activate this technology in the network of each mobile operator. For this, Kyivstar is actively negotiating with the most popular brands in Ukraine,” the company said.
According to the operator, such models of Apple smartphones have already been activated: iPhone 12 and 12 Pro, iPhone 11, 11 Pro and 11 Pro Max, iPhone XR and XS MAX, iPhone SE, and during 2021 smartphone manufacturers will activate VoLTE on other popular models that support this technology.
Mobile network operator Kyivstar has launched 4G communication in the 900 MHz range in Donetsk and Luhansk regions, where refarming of radio frequencies and reconfiguration of operator equipment have recently been completed.
“Thus, 4G in the 900 MHz band is already available in all regions of Ukraine. This is the completion of the first important stage of expanding the coverage of high-speed Internet in rural areas, which was launched in June 2020,” the operator’s press service said on Thursday.
Another 84,000 people living in 90 small towns or villages received access to 4G-network from Kyivstar in Donetsk and Luhansk regions today.
“The construction of 4G network in small villages is the most important tool to bridge the digital divide in Ukraine. To make this possible, Kyivstar voluntarily gave up part of its frequencies, which were then distributed among other operators to launch LTE in the 900 MHz band. High-speed Internet is starting to work today in small and remote villages, including those where only 50-100 people live,” President of Kyivstar Alexander Komarov said.
In general, high-speed mobile Internet from Kyivstar is already available in almost 14,000 cities, towns and villages, where 85% of the Ukrainian population lives.
According to the operator, half of these settlements were connected to 4G in 2020.
The company plans to provide at least 90% of the country’s population with high-speed mobile Internet by July 2022.
“The deployment of the national 4G network in rural areas was accelerated thanks to the use of the 900 MHz band, which has a larger coverage radius compared to the 1800 MHz and 2600 MHz bands. This was preceded by two years of painstaking work with the participation of all mobile network operators, the regulator, the Ministry of Digital Transformation and other public bodies,” Kyivstar said.
Since the beginning of 2020, Kyivstar has invested UAH 4.3 billion in the construction of the network, increasing investments by 22% compared to last year, and in general, over the past five years, the company’s expenses, including on the development of 3G and 4G communication in Ukraine, exceeded UAH 28 billion.
Mobile network operators Kyivstar, Vodafone Ukraine and lifecell plan to build up to 30% of new telecom network sites based on the infrastructure sharing model.
“We have agreed on sharing… All operators are aware that it makes no sense to build three networks in some localities and on some roads, that it makes sense to agree to a reasonable story with investments, it makes sense to share networks. According to forecasts, 30% of the new construction will be the sharing network,” Vodafone Ukraine CEO Olha Ustinova said at a briefing in Kyiv on Tuesday.
She also said that operators have great anticipations about the state’s permission to launch spectral sharing, which will allow them to share not only passive infrastructure, but also its active part.
Ustinova also called the elimination of the digital divide one of the most important projects of the telecom industry in Ukraine.
KYIVSTAR, LIFECELL, MOBILE NETWORK, MOBILE OPERATORS, network, VODAFONE
Mobile network operator Kyivstar has increased its 4G coverage in Zaporizhia and Kherson regions; the high-speed mobile coverage area includes 155 more settlements, where 76,000 people live.
The press service of the operator said on Monday that in particular, in Zaporizhia region, the territory of access to 4G Internet expanded by 42 settlements, in Kherson – by 113.
Kyivstar began to provide high-speed mobile Internet services at 900 MHz in the villages of Andriyivka, Davydivka, Mykolayivka, Mostove, Novoprokopivka, Rozivka, and Semenivka (Zaporizhia region), Brylivka, Vysoke, Davydiv Brid, Dolmativka, Kostohryzove, Mykhailivka, Novodmytrivka, Rozdolne, Sirohozy, Stara Mayachka, and Tiahynka (Kherson region).
In order to improve 4G coverage in these settlements, 27 base stations in the LTE 900 band have been installed.
Currently, the total number of mobile base stations of the company exceeds 38,000.
According to the company, Kyivstar has already provided access to 4G for almost 85% of the Ukrainian population. In the first nine months of 2020, more than UAH 4 billion has been invested in the development of new mobile communication technologies.
The mobile network operator Kyivstar has launched 4G communication in 235 settlements in Dnipropetrovsk and Kharkiv regions.
According to the press service of the operator reporting on Friday, 4G mobile communication appeared in the settlements of Biliaivka, Volokhiv Yar, Hubarivka, Dvorichne, Sakhnovschyna, Starovirivka (Kharkiv region), Vasylivka, Vodiane, Zlatoustivka, Myroliubivka, Novokalynivka, Novooleksandrivka, Pavlopillia (Kharkiv region), etc.
“To improve 4G coverage in these settlements, Kyivstar has installed 27 base stations at LTE 900 frequencies. As a result, another 72,000 people have the opportunity to use mobile Internet at high speed up to 100 Mbps,” the company said.
The total number of Kyivstar mobile base stations exceeded 38,000.
By now, Kyivstar has already provided access to 4G for almost 85% of the population.
The operator invested more than UAH 4 billion in the development of new mobile technologies in the first nine months of 2020.
The mobile operator Kyivstar has developed and implemented a new service to counter cyber fraud “Protection of alphanumeric names.”
This service is intended for business clients – with its help SMS messages are monitored and blocked from phishing resources, the operator said in a message on Monday.
An alphanumeric name is an alphabetic or digital signature that appears on the SMS sender line. The operator emphasizes that the service will be useful to all companies and institutions that use SMS in their work: banks, postal operators, retail, service providers, etc.
“Most often, phishing SMS are sent using commercial names and brands of companies well-known in the market. Therefore, in a number of messages from similar alpha names, subscribers may not notice the difference and automatically provide fraudsters with information about themselves or their bank account,” Kyivstar Chief Marketing Officer Pavlo Daniman said.
Kyivstar notes that when sending SMS to Kyivstar subscribers, the operator will continuously monitor and control the use of alphanumeric names or their variations only by a partner, and not by a third party. SMS delivery to Kyivstar subscribers, which uses original and visually similar alphanumeric partner names, which come from persons not authorized for such mailings, will be automatically blocked.
According to the operator, there are no analogues of this service in Ukraine.
As reported, according to the NBU, the number of fraudulent transactions with payment cards recorded by banks in January-June 2020 increased to 47,500, which is 1.4 times more than in the same period a year earlier.
