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
In July-September 2020, the mobile network operator Vodafone Ukraine saw revenue of UAH 4.8 billion, which is 12% more than in the same period in 2019.
According to the operator’s financial report, its net profit in the third quarter of this year amounted to UAH 157 million, which is 81% less than in the same period in 2019.
The operator explained this indicator by the exchange rate difference on the revaluation of the $500 million eurobonds, issued by the company in February 2020.
OIBDA increased by 11% and reached UAH 2.5 billion, the OIBDA margin decreased slightly – by 1.2 percentage points, to 53.4%. According to the operator, the operating efficiency indicators were improved due to cost optimization and increased revenue from data services.
The volume of Internet traffic in the Vodafone network has almost doubled over the past two years. This figure has increased by more than 40% over the year. The main reasons for the growth in speed and traffic are: an increase in 4G coverage, network capacity and the number of data users, the company said.
At the same time, at the end of the third quarter of 2020, ARPU grew by 16%, to UAH 79.10. The growth of the indicator in the company is linked to an increase in the geography of 4G coverage, as well as an increase in the use of high-speed mobile Internet, the consumption of which increased 1.4 times over the past year.
On average, according to the operator, the Vodafone Ukraine data client uses more than 5 GB of mobile Internet per month.
According to the operator’s report, Vodafone Ukraine’s 4G network became available to 80% of Ukrainians in the third quarter (penetration growth by 14 p.p. compared to the third quarter of 2019).
Vodafone Ukraine invested UAH 871 million in the network during the reporting period, and total investments in the construction of high-speed mobile Internet networks amounted to UAH 28.1 billion.
In July-September, the operator launched over 400 base stations in the 900 MHz range, which cover more than 2,000 settlements with a population of over 2 million people.
According to the results of the third quarter of 2020, the company’s subscriber base amounted to 19 million people, which is 4.1% less than in the same period last year. This is due to a decrease in the dynamics of new connections as a result of quarantine measures.
At the same time, the operator noted an increase in the segment of contract and corporate connections, as well as an increase in the number of connected IoT cards.
The base of IoT connections of Vodafone Ukraine” in two years has grown by 79%.
Other new directions, such as big data analytics, cloud solutions, services for electronic document management, also showed positive dynamics, according to the operator.
In the first nine months of this year, the company’s profit amounted to UAH 425 million, revenue reached UAH 13.3 billion.
The mobile operator Vodafone Ukraine has signed a memorandum with PrJSC Ukrainian Danube Shipping Company (UDP) on the use of IoT solutions in the field of cross-border river transport.
In particular, the company will introduce online monitoring of the movement of ships, provision of communication facilities on the territory of Ukraine and abroad, as well as tracking the content of cargo.
“We also agreed to use the capabilities of Big Data analytics for the subsequent creation of systems for predicting efficiency and preventing losses. We hope that cooperation with UDP will be successful and become an example of how digital technologies can be used to increase the success of an enterprise,” said deputy Director General of Vodafone Ukraine Andriy Bolshakov during the signing of the document.
The mobile operators Kyivstar, Vodafone Ukraine and lifecell, together with Huawei, have launched 4G at 23 more stations of Kyiv metro and in the tunnels between them.
According to the joint press release of the operators, in general, since October 28, the high-speed mobile Internet of three operators has been operating at 45 out of 46 underground stations.
4G will appear at the last Teremky station during December.
The launch of the 4G network in the metro began in March this year from the Akademmistechko station and continued gradually.
“It is interesting that almost 300,000 subscribers of all three operators use 4G Internet every day on average. Together, subscribers of mobile operators have already used more than 400 terabytes of traffic in the metro. This volume would be enough, for example, for a continuous viewing high quality video for 30 years,” the release notes.
For 4G operation in the metro Kyivstar, Vodafone Ukraine and lifecell use joint equipment from Huawei, but their own frequencies in accordance with licenses. Frequencies are used in two bands: 1800 MHz and 2600 MHz. According to the operators, the average 4G speed in the metro exceeds 40 Mbps.
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The mobile operator Vodafone Ukraine has launched a 4G LTE900 network in Sumy region, having installed 25 base stations, the company’s press service said on Friday, October 23.
According to a press release, the new coverage provides high-speed Internet for 195 settlements with a population of over 62,000 people.
To date, the operator has launched more than 530 base stations in the range of 900 MHz, which cover over 3,000 settlements. About 2.8 million people live on this territory.
The 4G LTE900 network from Vodafone Ukraine is already operating in Kyiv, Odesa, Vinnytsia, Volyn, Zhytomyr, Poltava, Khmelnytsky, Zakarpattia, Ivano-Frankivsk, Lviv, Mykolaiv, Sumy, Ternopil, Rivne, Chernivtsi, Cherkasy, Chernihiv regions and in the city of Ivano-Frankivsk.
Till the end of 2020, the LTE 900 MHz network will be launched in all regions of Ukraine, alternately from the west to the east.
According to licensing conditions, by mid-2022, mobile high-speed Internet coverage should be provided in settlements with a population of more than 2,000 people, covering 90% of the population of Ukraine. And the coverage of roads of international and national importance should be provided until mid-2024.
Vodafone Ukraine mobile operator has launched LTE-communications (4G) in the 900 MHz band in 128 settlements of Cherkasy region, thus providing high-speed Internet for almost 110,000 people.
According to company’s press service, in particular, the operator has launched 4G coverage in the 900 MHz band in more than 1,700 settlements of Kyiv, Odesa, Vinnytsia, Zhytomyr, Khmelnytsky, Zakarpattia, Ivano-Frankivsk, Lviv, Ternopil, Rivne, Volyn, Chernivtsi and Cherkasy regions, thus giving access to services for more than one million people.
By the end of 2020, the operator plans to launch the LTE network in the 900 MHz band in all regions of Ukraine: in turn from west to east.
As reported, according to the license terms, by mid-2022 the operators should provide mobile high-speed Internet coverage in settlements with population over 2,000 people, covering 90% of the population of Ukraine. 4G coverage for roads of international and national importance is to be provided until the middle of 2024.
