Scartel, the leading Russian WiMAX operator, working under the Yota brand, will switch to an LTE network in Moscow as early as April 15, CEO Denis Sverdlov told journalists last week. Investment in the project will total $60 million.
The new network will make mobile Internet access cheaper and faster than WiMAX, Sverdlov emphasized, as his company progressively switches to LTE its entire network, which covers many regions of the country. Scartel’s first LTE network launched commercially in mid January in Novosibirsk.
Scartel currently owns 1,500 base stations in Moscow. By the end of this year the company plans to expand coverage and increase the number of stations by a factor of 1.5 times within the city of Moscow and ten-fold in the Moscow region. Per recently inked agreements, Scartel intends to use the facilities of Rostelecom, the national telecom operator, and MegaFon, a leading mobile operator, in Moscow and the surrounding region for installing the new base stations.
But Scartel will face fierce competition in the capital. Megafon and MTS – another major mobile operator – also plan to launch LTE there this year.
