Kyivstar to increase LTE coverage in Ukraine to 98% by 2026 - company head
MOSCOW. Oct 26 (Interfax) - Ukraine's largest mobile operator Kyivstar will focus on the development of the Long Term Evolution (LTE) technology (a wireless network with enhanced requirements and a throughput of 10 Mbit/s), while the coverage will grow to 98% in Ukraine by 2026.
"Our goal is to increase LTE coverage for the population to 98% by 2026. For now, the percentage differs from one region to another. For instance, it stands at 97% in the Kiev region and 95% on the Kiev-Chop road," Ukrainian media quoted Kyivstar President Alexander Komarov as saying at a joint press conference with VEON CEO Kaan Terzioglu.
Even a 1% increase in coverage requires huge efforts and construction of hundreds of new sites, including those greenfield, he said.
Kyivstar is implementing the LTE Everywhere project in Ukraine, using with $600-million investment of the parent company VEON among others, Komarov said.
In his words, Kyivstar is focused on three key areas, namely the development of the network, the development of technologies, and the improvement of service quality. In particular, Kyivstar develops the PON technology (a modern technology for high-speed data transmission via fiber optic communication lines, involves connecting all subscriber devices via one optical cable and makes it possible to simultaneously use several telecommunications services: Internet, television and telephone).
Considering that the new technology requires more sites, their number has regained the pre-crisis level thanks to construction projects, Komarov said.
Kyivstar is the largest Ukrainian telecom operator, which provided service to 24 mobile phone users and over 1.1 million home Internet users as of September. The company uses a wide range of mobile and fixed technologies, including 4G, Big Data, Cloud solutions, cyber protection services, and digital TV.
The Kyivstar shareholder is the international group VEON, whose shares are listed on the NASDAQ (New York) and Euronext (Amsterdam) stock exchanges.