Telecom Lead Russia: Russian WiMAX operator Scartel
which operates as Yota may sell its WiMax broadband network in Belarus to focus
on home LTE market. The operator is looking to divest its foreign operations
and concentrate on deploying its network in Russia, according to local
reports.
Earlier, Scartel received regulatory approval from
telecoms regulator Roskomnadzor to abandon WiMAX for LTE in July 2010.
Thereafter the carrier initiated its new network in Moscow.
Scartel launched its WiMax network in the cities of Minsk
and Grodno in Belarus under the Yota brand in December 2011, may abandon the
operation, reported RBC Daily.
According to other reports Yota aims to launch commercial
operations of its Russian LTE networks in Samara, Moscow, Sochi, Novosibirsk
and Krasnodar in May.
Russian businessman Alisher Usmanov is said to be
considering selling a portion of his stake in mobile operator MegaFon to
acquire control of Yota, and may be discussing the exchange of shares with Yota
stake holders Telconet Capital and state company Russian Technologies.
Recently, Russian operator Rostelecom announced that it will
access the LTE network infrastructure of local rival Scartel which works under
the Yota brand as an MVNO.
Rostelecom said it will offer telecommunications services
using FDD-LTE – the frequency-division duplex version of LTE technology. The
company will use spectrum in the 2500-2530 and 2620-2650 megahertz
ranges.
Our MVNO-model will enable Rostelecom to optimise its
costs and resources when starting to provide 4G network services in the near
future. It will also help us to expand Rostelecom’s range of services in
Moscow. We believe that LTE technology has great potential,” said
Alexander Provotorov, president of Rostelecom.
Rostelecom aims to launch test services on July 1 2012,
with commercial services starting in the Moscow region from September 1. The
company plans to expand to other regions across Russia. The operator also
intends to offer its branded equipment to subscribers.
