MegaFon, a major Russian mobile phone operator, is investing in a project that will provide data access to on-the-ground users from low-Earth orbit satellites.
The operator plans to invest 6 billion rubles (some $75 million at the current exchange rate ) over the next two years into research of the new technology. A dedicated R&D company, ‘MegaFon 1440,’ has been set up to carry out the work. The goal is to provide high-speed data access from space so that it can reach a wide geographical area using a satellite network.
The number ‘1440’ in the company name is a reference to Russian Sputnik-1, the first ever Soviet-era satellite, which orbited the earth exactly 1,440 times.
Senior managers of Yadro, a leading Russian computing systems developer, will head up the project, which will also involve specialists from MegaFon. Both MegaFon and Yadro are part of USM, a diversified holding group founded by Russian billionaire Alisher Usmanov.
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