MTS Ukraine, Kyivstar and Life, Ukraine's three biggest telecom operators, have bought licenses for providing the 3G mobile internet connection that will be valid for 15 years. All three will operate in different frequency ranges.
Third generation mobile interconnectivity, or 3G,
means greater speed of data traffic via wireless signals – and faster internet
connection on mobile devices. Ukraine has been the only country in Europe and
the Caucasus not to have a 3G network till today.
The auction held on Feb. 23 accepted voice bids
for three lots, 30 MHz per lot.
The first lot went to Astelit, a parent company
for Life, for Hr 3.36 billion ($118.310 million), although the company offered
only Hr 2.703 billion ($95.176 million) in the initial secret bid and industry experts
believed the company would not be able to raise the stakes.
Second lot was sold to MTS for Hr 2.715 billion
($95,600 million). Set of frequencies under this lot is considered “the
cleanest” technology by the experts, as the two other
frequency ranges have already been partially conceded to other companies by the
National Regulatory Commission for Communication and Information. This could
create jamming in the network at those frequencies.
MTS estimates additional investment needed for 3G network establishment at $1 billion including already
invested funds, Interfax Ukraine news agency informs.
According to the rules of the auction, Kyivstar
received the third lot automatically for its initial offer of Hr 2.7 billion ($95,070
million).
After the official announcement of the bid
results the operators are required to pay the full license price in two months
term and start providing 3G connection in at least one region not later than in
half a year.
Ukraine has been down this road before. In 2009,
a 3G license was issued to then state-owned telecom giant Ukrtelecom, but the
company didn’t have much progress on this. In 2013, it became a part of
billionaire Rinat Akmetov’s business empire System Capital Management, but
nothing changed in terms of introducing the 3G.
Ukraine is late as usual when it comes to
introducing the tech innovations. The 3G technology was born yet in 2001, while
today it’s 4G and even 5G technologies that the global market is more
interested in now.
Kyiv Post staff writer Olena Gordiienko can be reached at [email protected].
