Telecom network operators MTS and VimpelCom have reduced the costs of construction and joint network usage by 10-15 percent as compared to their initial estimates under the 4G LTE spectrum sharing agreement announced in 2014.
“In the regions where we installed and jointly operated base stations, we have increased the number of LTE subscribers 30 percent faster than the average pace of growth throughout Russia. We have managed to reduce the costs of construction and joint network usage by 10-15 percent compared to our initial estimates,” said Andrei Dubovskov, president and CEO of MTS.
“With spectrum sharing, we expect to bring mobile broadband to remote areas even faster and anticipate realizing more efficiencies,” said Dubovskov.
Last week, MTS and VimpelCom agreed to share 4G LTE spectrum in the 2600 MHz range in 20 Russian regions beginning in 2016.
The amendment to their December 2014 agreement will focus on spectrum sharing that will allow operators to double data transfer speeds available to the subscribers at peak speeds of 150 Mbps.
The amendment agreement relates to the shared use of airwaves and radio frequency. VimpelCom Russia and MTS will share 2,600 MHz LTE frequencies in 20 of the 36 regions of Russia that were covered by the original 2014 agreement.
VimpelCom Russia and MTS plan to share airwaves and radio frequency channels across all base stations that they jointly use pursuant to the 2014 agreement. The amendment allows for further expansion of the region list for the shared use of airwaves and frequencies, and it has a six-year term, which is extendable.
The terms of the agreement allow for a doubling of the peak speeds currently available to MTS and VimpelCom Russia customers up to 150 Mbps.
As per the first agreement announcement on December 19, 2014, VimpelCom Russia and MTS decided to jointly plan, develop and operate 4G/LTE networks in Russia. Between 2014 and 2016, MTS will build and operate 4G/LTE base stations for shared use in 19 regions, while VimpelCom Russia will build and operate 4G/LTE base stations for shared use in 17 Russian regions.
The term of the agreement is seven years and can be extended. Within these years, the operators plan to share base stations, platforms, infrastructure and resources of the transportation network in those regions. The agreement, however, allows both parties to build their own networks to improve individual 4G/LTE coverage. In the first year of the project, the operators launched shared 4G/LTE networks in 31 of the 36 regions.
Baburajan K
editor@telecomlead.com
