Telecom industry needs to focus on development of 4G technology in next few years – Kyivstar

Mobile network operator Kyivstar has noted the high potential of 4G (LTE) mobile communication technology, the operator said in a statement on Tuesday.

"The results of new tests once again confirm that the potential for the development of 4G in Ukraine is very large. Therefore, in my opinion, in the next few years the telecom industry needs to focus on this radio technology," Director Director of Networks Planning & Quality Management at Kyivstar Vasyl Pantov said.

According to him, operators should focus on making high-speed Internet available to more than 90% of Ukrainians – for this, Kyivstar annually invests UAH 4-5 billion in the development of its own telecom infrastructure.

Together with its technological partner Huawei, Kyivstar set a new record for data transmission speed in its own 4G network – more than 800 Mbit per second, which became possible thanks to Carrier Aggregation – the simultaneous use of 900 MHz, 1800 MHz and 2600 MHz radio frequencies, which, according to licenses, the company can use for 4G.

The operator has been using 1800 MHz and 2600 MHz frequency aggregation since 2018 to provide subscribers with high speed and better network capacity. Since July of this year, the mobile operator has begun using 900 MHz for 4G, which provide a greater range of towers and help expand the network in small villages.

"The equipment, on which the speed record was set, is also used in the expansion of 4G in most cities and villages of Ukraine. Thanks to active investments in construction, now high-speed mobile Internet from Kyivstar operates in more than 15,000 cities and villages of Ukraine, where 85% of the population of the country lives," the company said.

Kyivstar is the largest Ukrainian telecommunications operator. It provides communication and data services based on a wide range of mobile and fixed-line technologies, including 3G. By the end of 2019, its services were used by about 26.2 million mobile subscribers and about 1 million fixed-line Internet customers.

The shareholder of Kyivstar is the international group VEON (earlier – VimpelCom Ltd.). The group's shares are listed on the NASDAQ stock exchange (New York).

Source: www.en.interfax.com.ua