According to the results of January-March 2022, the mobile operator Lifecell LLC (lifecell) recorded a net profit of UAH 209.4 million, which is 2.52 times more than in the same period of 2021.
According to the operator’s press service on Friday, the company’s income in the first quarter of this year increased by 21.5% – to UAH 2.307 billion from UAH 1.899 billion in the first quarter of 2021.
EBITDA at the end of the specified period increased by 20% – to UAH 1.292 billion (in the first quarter of 2021 – UAH 1.077 billion). At the same time, EBITDA margin decreased by 0.7 percentage points to 56% (56.7%).
Lifecell’s capital investments for the first three months of the year increased by 24.3% – up to UAH 711.6 million from UAH 572.4 million in the first quarter of last year.
The active three-month subscriber base of lifecell increased by 11.3% – up to 8.9 million subscribers (8 million in January-March 2021).
Active three-month ARPU grew by 7.1% year on year and amounted to UAH 84.3 (UAH 78.7 a year earlier). At the same time, the 12-month active MoU decreased by 4.1% to 170 minutes (from 177 minutes in the first quarter of 2021).
“Some of our people are fighting on the front lines. The rest, in the conditions of war, do their work during rocket attacks. As soon as our army liberates the territory from the invaders, our brigades, together with contractors, go to the destroyed facilities and resume their work. That is why the first quarter of 2022 can be proud. And I’m glad to be a part of the lifecell team and a part of Ukraine”, commented Ismet Yazidzhi, CEO of lifecell, commented on the results of the quarter of 2022.
As reported, according to the results of 2021, lifecell received a net profit of UAH 610.9 million, which is 4.24 times less than in 2020 (UAH 2.589 billion), while the operator’s income in 2021 increased by 24.1% – up to UAH 8.483 billion. EBITDA increased by 30.9% to UAH 4.751 billion, while EBITDA margin increased by 2.9 percentage points (p.p.) to 56%.
Lifecell’s capital investments in 2021 increased by 3.2% to UAH 3.594 billion.
Mobile operator lifecell records an increase in demand for eSIM during the war in Ukraine: since February 24, it has increased five times on average, and on some days subscribers ordered 20 times more digital SIM cards than before the outbreak of hostilities , the press service of the company said on Monday.
“From March 4 to March 7, the operator observed a peak in demand for eSIM – 25 times more subscribers joined the lifecell network using digital SIM cards than in the same period before the war. And the traffic from the Kherson region in the lifecell online store during this period exceeded the usual level of 44 times,” the report says.
This, the company notes, is due to the fact that lifecell remained the only operator that provided communication services in Kherson and the region during this period. Consistently high rates of digital SIM usage in March remained in the Kherson region and Kyiv.
In addition, the number of eSIM users during the war increased in Lviv and the Lviv region by almost six times compared to pre-war times.
Outside of Ukraine, the demand for eSIM has increased sevenfold. Most people bought a digital SIM card in Poland and Germany.
The Ukrainian mobile operators Kyivstar, Vodafone Ukraine and Lifecell have realized the opportunity to use mobile Internet within national roaming.
According to the joint message of the companies, distributed on Sunday, now subscribers can use not only voice calls and SMS, but also mobile 2G/3G Internet at speeds up to 512 kbps to exchange messages in instant messengers or search for information on the Internet.
National roaming allows you to connect to the network of another if the connection of one operator is lost.
“At the moment, the availability of mobile Internet is no less important than calls, because it allows you to keep in touch with loved ones online and check the latest news. At the same time, the tariffing of services in national roaming is maintained in accordance with the tariff plan of the operator whose services the subscriber uses,” the report says.
Roaming works automatically for Lifecell subscribers. If there is no connection to the network of another operator, manual settings must be made.
Kyivstar and Vodafone Ukraine subscribers can use this option by making manual settings on their smartphone and disabling auto network selection.
As noted in the message, if registration failed, you need to try again or select another network.
It is also important for subscribers to try daily to return (connect) to the network of their operator manually or by turning on automatic network selection.
Mobile operators Kyivstar, Vodafone Ukraine and lifecell together with the Ministry of Digital Transformation of Ukraine, the State Service for Special Communications and Information Protection of Ukraine, the National Commission for State Regulation in the Fields of Electronic Communications, Radio Frequency Spectrum and Provision of Postal Services together with the Ukrainian Association of Telecom Operators “Telas” announce the launch of national roaming in Ukraine.
“This means that subscribers can switch to the network of other operators if it is not possible to use the signal of their mobile operator. In the context of military aggression, mobile operators and the Ministry of Digital Transformation, State Service for Special Communications and Information Protection of Ukraine, the National Commission for State Regulation in the Fields of Electronic Communications and Telas have joined forces to ensure the continuity of communication services for their subscribers,” the joint statement said on Monday.
Starting today, national roaming between operators is launched in test mode.
“First of all, it will be connected in the zone of active hostilities (Kharkiv, Kherson, Sumy, Poltava, Dnipropetrovsk, Zaporizhia, Donetsk, Luhansk, Kirovohrad, Mykolaiv regions), then in Chernihiv, Zhytomyr, Cherkasy and Vinnytsia regions and subsequently throughout the territory Ukraine. That is, if the connection of one operator disappears, the subscriber will be able to manually connect the connection of another operator,” the message says.
Currently, national roaming is available for voice calls and SMS messages within Ukraine from all mobile operators.
For the reliable functioning of the network, operators will technically implement the possibility of using national roaming gradually. Initially, national roaming will be activated for subscribers of the contract form of service, and within the next three days, subscribers of prepaid communication will be connected.
What you need to know about using national roaming for subscribers:
– the name of the network may change to the one whose coverage is in use;
– national roaming does not require additional payment from subscribers;
– Calls and SMS are billed according to the terms of your operator’s tariff plan.
How to connect to another operator’s network:
1. Disable auto network selection, find and select an available network manually (Vodafone UA, UA-KYIVSTAR or LIFECELL). If registration fails, you need to try again or select a different network.
After connecting, it is necessary to check the possibility of passing a call, SMS.
If if is impossible to connect to the network of another operator, the subscriber should try to restart the phone.
Operators emphasize that it is important to try to return (connect) to the network of their operator every day. Manually or by enabling auto network selection.
“Please note that connecting national roaming involves a significant load on the networks of operators. This may affect the quality of some services,” the message says.
In September, the mobile operator lifecell connected 377 more settlements to 4G, where a total of 134,000 people live.
According to the company’s press service on Monday, out of the indicated number of settlements in 376 settlements up to 5,000 people live and in one – up to 25,000 people.
The operator also notes that as of the end of September, the operator’s 4G coverage is available in 12,889 settlements, where more than 28 million Ukrainians live.
With the network roll-out, the consumption of mobile Internet has also increased: last month lifecell subscribers used 56% more 4G traffic on an annual basis.
In September, lifecell users spent 11% more time on social networks, 31% more watched videos on YouTube and 42% more often communicated in instant messengers, compared to the same period in 2020.
At the same time, Ukrainians did not cut their calls to each other: the amount of voice traffic in lifecell network grew by 6% on an annual basis.
In Ukraine, lifecell is the third largest mobile operator.
In March 2021, mobile operator lifecell expanded its 4G network coverage in 661 more settlements of Ukraine with a population of more than 358,000 people.
According to the operator’s statement on Wednesday, in particular, in March the lifecell network was expanded in 655 towns with a population of up to 5,000 people and in six cities with a population of up to 25,000 people in different regions of Ukraine.
The operator also analyzed the consumption of data traffic in March: lifecell subscribers using 4G consumed 82% more mobile Internet traffic compared to the same period in 2020.
At the same time, the total volume of used data traffic in the operator’s network in March increased by 49% on an annual basis.
“One of the main reasons for the traffic growth is the expansion of coverage in the 900 MHz range, which became possible after the operators carried out refarming of the radio frequency spectrum in this range. This made it possible for residents of rural areas and small towns to use high-speed mobile Internet,” lifecell said.
Kyiv became the leader among settlements in terms of consumption of mobile Internet traffic in March in the category of cities with a population of more than 1 million, and then it is followed by Odesa, Kharkiv and Dnipro.
In cities with a population of up to 1 million people, Lviv is in the lead, and with a population of up to 500,000 people – Cherkasy.
The number of voice calls did not change compared to March 2020.
