Ukraine’s largest mobile operator Kyivstar will focus on the development of LTE technology. (Long Term Evolution – wireless network with higher requirements and bandwidth from 10 Mbps), by 2026 the coverage level in Ukraine will be brought to 98%.
“Our goal is to achieve 98% LTE coverage by population by 2026. It’s different now, depending on the region. But, for example, in the Kiev region it is 97%, and on the highway Kiev-Chop 95%”, – said the President of “Kyivstar” Alexander Komarov to journalists.
He specified that increasing the coverage even by 1% requires huge efforts and construction of hundreds of new sites (sites), including greenfield (from scratch, – IF-U).
“Kyivstar is implementing the “LTE everywhere” project in Ukraine, including the $600 million investment from its parent company VEON, Komarov specified.
“We believe that this will be the key technology for the next 5-7 years. It will transmit the largest amount of internet or data of our consumers. That is why we are implementing this project now, and its main focus is coverage”, – specified the president of Kyivstar.
According to him, Kyivstar focuses on three key areas: network development, technology development, and improvement of communication quality. Among other things, Kyivstar is developing PON technology (modern technology of high-speed data transmission via fiber-optic communication lines, which implies connection of all subscribers’ devices through one optical cable and gives an opportunity to simultaneously use several telecommunication services: Internet, TV and telephone – IF-U).
Komarov noted that since new technologies require an increase in the number of sites, through construction, the number of sites has already reached pre-war levels.
“As I said, we are actually building many times more than our competitors – bigger and faster. I will tell you this: despite the loss of 7% of the network (due to the full-scale invasion of the Russian Federation – IF-U) we are currently serving the same number of sites as we were before the war. The part that we lost, we have already fully resumed,” Komarov said.
“Kyivstar is Ukraine’s largest electronic communications operator, serving 24 million mobile subscribers and more than 1.1 million Home Internet subscribers as of September. The company provides services using a wide range of mobile and fixed technologies, including 4G, Big Data, Cloud solutions, services for cyber defense, and digital TV.
Kyivstar’s shareholder is the international VEON group, whose shares are listed on the NASDAQ (New York) and Euronext (Amsterdam) stock exchanges.
The mobile operator lifecell has begun to provide 4G (LTE) communication services in 22 regional centers, as well as Kramatorsk and Severodonetsk, while 3G + and 4.5G traffic will be charged the same way, the operator said on Friday.
“In one third of the cities, namely in Mykolaiv, Chernihiv, Zhytomyr, Rivne, Cherkasy, Vinnytsia, Severodonetsk and Kramatorsk, lifecell is the only operator that started to provide 4G communication services,” the operator said in a press release.
According to the operator, 49% of smartphones in the lifecell network support LTE technology.
4G mobile services will be provided using LTE Advanced Pro (4.5G) technology, which provides up to five times faster download speed, up to 10 times faster upload speed, as well as instant reaction of websites and applications in comparison with 3G.
To use a next generation connection, a subscriber needs to have a SIM-card with support for the 4G/LTE standard (USIM-card) and a smartphone supporting at least 4G/LTE.
“The USIM card not only supports the 4G (LTE) standard, but it also has other advantages: higher security and additional options. The main difference is larger memory, and the USIM address book can store up to 500 contacts with extended data: several contact phone numbers and an e-mail address,” the press service of the operator said.
The operator lifecell also does not plan to set a separate tariff for 4G traffic.
“3G+ and 4.5G traffic will be charged the same way. The subscribers will choose which technology to use in the phone’s settings,” the press release said.
The second wave of 4.5G deployments from lifecell in the 1800 MHz band is expected in July 2018.
