The Ministry of Digital Development will again postpone the deadline for covering the majority of Russian settlements with the LTE communication network. The process was previously scheduled to be completed in 2025, but now the date has been pushed back.
The changes are reflected in the preliminary decision of the State Commission for Radio Frequencies (SCRF), as reviewed by Kommersant. The document notes that the date is moved to September 2027. A meeting on this topic is planned for December 27, the publication writes.
According to the head of the Ministry of Digital Development, Maksut Shadayev, who confirmed plans to examine this issue, a final decision has not yet been made.
- Russian telecommunications companies (Vimpelcom, Rostelecom, MTS and Megafon) received frequencies for LTE cellular communications in 2012. For this, operators were required to provide LTE coverage to all Russian cities and towns with a population of a thousand or more people by 2021.
- In 2021, these deadlines were moved to the end of 2024. At the same time, federal highway coverage was added to the operators’ obligations.
At the same time, to date, the publication notes, it has not been possible to achieve full coverage of federal highways even with networks of the previous generation.
According to a source in the publication among large telecommunications operators, the main reason for the postponement is the shortage of the necessary equipment.
“To communicate the roads, a large amount of equipment is needed, which is currently scarce,” he stated.
As Reuters wrote late last year, the departure from Russia of telecoms equipment makers Ericsson and Nokia could see the country’s network coverage slide back to the level of the late 1990s.
The Durov Code publication notes that in November Russia fell in the ranking of countries with the fastest Internet from 99th to 102nd place. The Russian Federation was overtaken by states such as Uzbekistan, Indonesia and Tunisia.
In early December, the government approved a document according to which mobile operators may be allowed to index tariff prices above the inflation rate. However, in return, companies must begin to develop new generations of communications, modern technologies, and also start the construction of infrastructure in the territories controlled by the Russian Armed Forces.
Author:
Natalia Gormaleva
Source: RB
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