Kyivstar jointly with market to ask cabinet to make decision on technological neutrality
The absence of the possibility of introducing new communications standards continues to seriously hinder the development of Ukrainian telecommunications, so the market will encourage the government to take a decision on technological neutrality, according to Ihor Lytovchenko, the president of the largest mobile operator, Kyivstar.
"The government has to resolve several problems to allow the telecommunications market to develop: to issue additional licenses for 3G communications or make a decision on technological neutrality," he told Interfax-Ukraine at a roundtable on the online education organized by Victor Pinchuk Foundation as a part of the World Economic Forum in Davos.
Lytovchenko said that 900 MHz and 1800 MHz frequency bands on which Ukrainian mobile operators work today could be used in new standards.
"We need a simple decision of the Cabinet of Ministers. The cabinet can simply make a decision, on which the frequency bands will be used for other technologies," he said.
He said that operators are planning to seriously discuss the issue at the government level.
"I don’t know what the outcome will be, but we'll put forward the initiative ourselves via the communications operators' association," Lytovchenko said.
As reported, at present, there is a technological possibility to build 3G communications networks in the 900 MHz range and 4G LTE communications networks in the 1800 MHz range.
However, in 2010, the Ukrainian parliament rejected a bill on technological neutrality in the use of radio frequency bands, which could have allowed operators to introduce technologies which were not foreseen in the primary license.