The mobile network operator Vodafone Ukraine expects that due to lost revenue from roaming, the Ukrainian telecom market in 2020 will lose about UAH 1 billion due to COVID-19.

"According to our forecasts, only due to the lost revenue from roaming, the Ukrainian telecom market will lose up to UAH 1 billion in 2020 due to COVID-19. At the same time, this year the growth of the entire telecom market will be determined by double digits. This is linked to huge investments, which, among other things, Vodafone Ukraine has invested in the country's economy," Director General of Vodafone Ukraine Olha Ustynova said, describing the market situation in an interview with Interfax-Ukraine.

She also said that in the third quarter, the company's revenues from data services of the total revenue as a result of a significant expansion of the geography of services provision exceeded 60%.

"We predict that the telecom business will continue receiving most of the revenue from the sale of data services (for comparison, it was 50% previously)," Ustynova said.

She also predicted that, despite significant losses in roaming revenues, Vodafone Ukraine will still show good growth dynamics year-on-year.

"This is due to both the greater availability of services and the expansion of coverage, and the fact that many people have begun to actively use mobile technologies for education, work, shopping, leisure and entertainment," the head of the second largest mobile operator in Ukraine said.

The operator also plans to keep the subscriber base at the current level. The investment plans of the company have not changed either: all planned investments of Vodafone Ukraine, according to Ustynova, will be fully implemented.