Kyivstar, Ukraine's largest mobile network operator, has invested more than UAH 350 million in alternative energy supply, the company said on Tuesday.

According to the company, it increased the number of generators for alternative power supply of base stations by 75%, and also installed more than 18,000 batteries of a new type, with a longer life.

According to its press release, since February 2022, Kyivstar specialists have upgraded more than 7,000 base stations and built 700 new base stations for 4G communications, thanks to which the coverage area of the company's 4G network has increased by 6-20% depending on the region.

The operator recalled that in the hostilities, about 18% of the company's mobile base stations were significantly damaged. However, due to the early reservation of additional communication channels, the transfer of nodal base stations to cities remote from the front, almost 90% of the Kyivstar telecom network is now in working condition.

According to the report, since the beginning of the war, Kyivstar specialists have restored 600 base stations, replaced 1,200 km of damaged fiber-optic cable, eliminated 140,000 infrastructure emergencies, and returned mobile communications to 815 settlements.

As reported, at the beginning of January 2023, Kyivstar announced its intention to increase the number of stationary and mobile diesel generators at other network facilities by another 40%, to 14 MW.

In December 2022, Director of the Fixed-Line Internet Development Department of the Ministry of Digital Transformation Yuriy Matsyk said that out of 32,000 mobile communication stations, only 7% were provided with generators, and 93% with batteries. According to him, for a communication center where there is traffic switching, generators with a capacity of 20-30 kW are needed. For a base station – 6-8 kW.