Major Russian operators teaming up for 2012 LTE launch

Details: James Barton; Category: Wireless Networks; 09 December 2011; 10068 views

Telecom companies Yota and MegaFon have agreed on joint development of fourth generation LTE networks in Russia...

Telecom companies Yota and MegaFon have agreed on joint development of fourth generation LTE networks in Russia.

The agreement enables MegaFon to provide 4G LTE (Long Term Evolution) mobile services using Yota’s equipment, while Yota can take advantage of MegaFon’s network infrastructure.

The alliance is designed to provide both companies’ clients with access to latest technologies and services, as well as hastening availability of LTE and development due to a higher efficiency of capital investments in LTE networks and reduced operating expenses.

“Cooperation with MegaFon allows us to implement our LTE development plans and will enable both companies’ clients to start using 4G telecom services as early as next year,” said Yota’s CEO Denis Sverdlov.

“Implementation of our agreement with Yota will soon allow our clients to use 4G LTE within the Megafon network at the highest possible speeds with no loss of quality,” MegaFon’s CEO Sergei Soldatenkov added.

The data transmission rate in fourth generation networks is several times higher than in 3G. This allows users to handle huge amounts of data quickly and efficiently, for example downloading and watching videos, streaming music, playing online games, sending high-resolution photos and using online ‘cloud’ applications for business.

The agreement on joint development of 4G networks also serves to implement the latest telecommunication technologies and overcome digital inequality in Russia. Today, Russia has one of the highest mobile phone penetration rates in the world (160%). With the development of 4G networks, it will be among the world leaders both in LTE geographic coverage and the number of LTE users and in terms of the general development of mobile telephony.