Shared LTE network set to launch later this year
Mobile operators VimpelCom and MegaFon announced a joint project to develop base stations and share LTE network infrastructure and operations across 10 regions in Russia.
The telcos said they will share expenditures on the development and use of the base stations and allow VimpelCom and MegaFon to accelerate LTE coverage penetration at lower costs. The shared LTE network is expected to be launched after the second quarter of this year.
In Russia, MegaFon operates under the Beeline commercial brand. Both firms plan to deploy more than 1,300 additional LTE-enabled base stations in the Smolensk, Belgorod, Voronezh, Lipetsk, Bryansk and Arkhangelsk regions, the Republic of Karelia and other regions.
“The implementation of a joint [radio access network]-sharing project with VimpelCom will allow us to enhance harmoniously our infrastructure in the 1,800 MHz band in the most efficient way,” explained MegaFon CTO Alexander Bashmakov. “With this project, we are going not only to improve the existing network significantly, but also to rapidly launch LTE in new locations in the selected regions at a minimum cost. This will allow millions of MegaFon’s new customers to enjoy high-speed mobile Internet and high-quality communication.”
“With the start of this project with MegaFon, we have the widest 4G LTE network sharing partnership program of any Russian mobile operator,” added VimpelCom Russia’s EVP for infrastructure development Martin Skop.
Beeline initially launched LTE services in May 2013 and currently offers the service using spectrum in the 800 MHz, 1800 MHz and 2.6 GHz bands.
MegaFon offers LTE services using the 1800 MHz and 2.6 GHz bands, having lauched services in 2012.
Danish telco TDC inks deal with Huawei to upgrade broadband service
In other EMEA news, Danish telecom group TDC signed an agreement with Chinese firm Huawei to upgrade TDC’s coaxial network to deliver broadband speeds of up to 1 gigabit per second. The upgrade is set to begin this year and is scheduled for completion by the end of 2017.
“We are opening a super highway of digital entertainment services, where the sky – not the speed – is the limit. Already before the end of 2017, half of all Danish households will have access to 1 Gbps speeds – 10-times faster than the political objectives for the year 2020,” said TDC Group CEO Pernille Erenbjerg.
The DOCSIS 3.1-compliant architecture involves network-wide end points, optical nodes, amplifiers, passive splitters and corresponding engineering services.
TDC provides residential pay-TV and broadband services as well as corporate services in Norway, and mobile and fixed-line services in Sweden.
