A few weeks after Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev lambasted the quality of mobile communications in Moscow, VTB Capital, the investment arm of the Russian financial group VTB, has published a report on the issue.
According to the research, Megafon comes in the lead for the quality of 3G services in the capital, with an average speed of 2.2Mbps, followed by MTS (1.5Mbps) and Vimpelcom (0.8Mbps) – all known as “the Big Three” mobile operators in Russia’s telecom industry.
Vimpelcom’s CEO Anton Kudryashov explained that his company trails the other major operators in 3G development because of a “$2 billion lag in investment in the networks” brought about by the aftermath of the 2008 financial meltdown. Nevertheless, the company now has a “large investment plan for Moscow” and intends to double its base stations across the city.
To gauge the performance of the Russian capital’s 3G networks, VTB Capital used the Android-powered Samsung Galaxy S2 smartphones and special Speedtest software. The speed of data transmission was measured in 20 spots across the city, mostly in the central boroughs and close to subway stations. The testing method has been criticized by industry experts.
Two years ago, however, Russian analysts from Telecom Daily did similar gauging and came up with comparable results.
Last year, in a comparison of mobile services in Moscow and London, a report prepared by Systemics-PAB, a Polish telecom researcher, found that some parameters in Moscow are even superior to those in London.
Sources: Kommersant, the Russian government, Telecom Daily, Vedomosti
