M. Stulov

The Ministry of Communications officials do not say which operators will work in the LTE test zones. Representatives of MTS , VimpelCom and MegaFon, as well as Rostelecom, controlled by the state holding Svyazinvest, have repeatedly expressed interest in launching LTE networks. But which of these companies and in what territory they plan to test LTE, as well as on what equipment, the operators' representatives do not say. A representative of MTS explains: the company does not have the right to disclose these plans without waiting for the regulator's decision.

The most important items on the agenda of the next meeting of the State Commission on Radio Frequencies (SCRF), scheduled for May 28, were named yesterday by the Ministry of Communications. The first of them is the approval of pilot zones for testing LTE technology in Primorsky Krai, Kostroma, Rostov and Sverdlovsk regions. The technology will be tested in several ranges - both in those that have not yet been used by cellular operators (700-900 MHz, 2.3-2.4 GHz, 2.5-2.7 GHz), and in the familiar 900 MHz, 1800 MHz and 2100 MHz.

Svyazinvest has an advantage over the cellular "big three": its subsidiaries won tenders for frequencies in the 2.3-2.4 GHz range in 39 of 40 Russian regions back in the first quarter of 2010 and intend to build LTE networks there. Rostelecom, which is to be joined in a year by most of Svyazinvest's other subsidiaries, intends to create pilot 4G projects in these regions where it already has licenses, says a representative of the company's press service. The operator prefers the LTE standard, since it provides higher data transfer speeds. But the terms of the licenses won by Rostelecom oblige it to use Russian-made equipment for building networks, and the final choice of technology will depend on which of the suppliers receives the status of a domestic manufacturer, explains a representative of Rostelecom.

There are no plans to assign frequencies in the experimental zones to operators, says a press service employee of the ministry. But at the same meeting of the State Commission on Radio Frequencies, it is planned to allocate additional sections of the spectrum for 4G networks – both LTE and mobile WiMax, the Ministry of Communications reported. For LTE networks, it is planned to allocate frequencies of 2.5–2.7 GHz, currently owned by mobile television operators of the MMDS standard and mobile WiMax operators – Scartel (Yota brand) and Comstar-OTS. The Ministry of Communications will proceed from the efficiency of spectrum use, and not from technology, explains the representative of the department.

In return, MMDS television operators will be offered sections of the 430–800 MHz range, in which digital television networks of the DVB-T/H standard operate. WiMax operators will not lose frequencies either, promises an employee of the press service of the Ministry of Communications. Vice President for Business Development at Scartela Egor Ivanov calls the initiative of the Ministry of Communications a “logical measure” aimed at the most efficient use of frequencies. And Comstar-OTS (provides mobile WiMax services in Moscow and owns MMDS assets in several cities in Russia) has not yet developed a final attitude to these plans. On the one hand, Comstar’s regional strategy provides for connecting subscribers to TV via cable, on the other hand, in some cities, using the digital MMDS standard is more expedient from an economic point of view, says Comstar-OTS press secretary Ekaterina Nevskaya. “In those regions where we will not digitalize MMDS, we want to use these frequencies to provide communication services using other technologies,” she adds.

In addition, the State Commission on Radio Frequencies plans to put up for tender a new package of frequencies in the 2.3–2.4 GHz range in another 22 regions. Rostelecom, which won similar frequencies in 39 regions, will decide whether to participate in new tenders after their conditions become known, says a representative of the operator.

The state will conduct an experiment with frequencies