Russian operator Rostelecom has won 4G mobile licences in 38 regions of Russia out of 40 offered, Reuters reports.
Licences in the 2.3-2.4 GHz frequency band were auctioned in February and March. Long-distance operator Rostelecom, which is part of…
Russian operator Rostelecom has won 4G mobile licences in 38 regions of Russia out of 40 offered, Reuters reports.
Licences in the 2.3-2.4 GHz frequency band were auctioned in February and March. Long-distance operator Rostelecom, which is part of state-owned telecoms holding Svyazinvest, is in the process of incorporating seven regional operators with a view to becoming an integrated operator providing fixed-line, broadband and mobile services. The 4G licences it was allocated together cover one third of the Russian population.
Sibirtelecom, also part of Svyazinvest, was awarded a licence for the Tomsk region in Siberia and local operator Vainakh Telecom won the licence in Chechnya.
The new licence holders will have to build 4G networks, using Russian-made equipment and start operations, within the next 18 months.
No auction was held for Moscow and St Petersburg where the three largest mobile operators, MTS, VimpelCom and MegaFon has recently started providing 3G services.
