Ukraine Telecom Market – Ukraine’s 2.6GHz Spectrum Auction Sets up LTE Launches

Ukraine’s telecom infrastructure is being modernised through considerable investment in both the mobile and fixed-broadband sectors. Competition is provided from a number of alternative operators, and although the incumbent Ukrtelecom remains the dominant player in the fixed-line market the regulatory environment has improved following the sale of the company to the local conglomerate SCM Group, though the legality of this sale has been disputed and legal action is ongoing. The telecom sector has attracted investors from Turkey and Russia, while Vodafone Group has partnered with MTS Ukraine to help develop mobile services under the Vodafone brand.

The political tension which erupted in late 2013, and which escalated in a more violent form in eastern areas of the country, has brought focus to the vulnerability of the telecom network. A number of telcos operating in Crimea, annexed by Russia in 2014, left the peninsular after their licences were made over to Russian firms. More recently, telcos have retreated from the Donetsk region after it was impossible for them to continue services. The telecom regulator now assesses market statistics, including revenue, excluding data from Crimea and the separately administered city of Sevastopol, as well as from a number of contested regions in the east.

The competitive mobile market is dominated by the three network operators Vodafone Ukraine, Kyivstar and Lifecell. Together, these players have held back the development of the MVNO sector by promoting their own low-cost subsidiaries. Nevertheless, a gap in the low-cost sector may provide the opportunity for MVNOs to thrive in coming years. Competition resulting from mobile number portability has also been stymied, either by the regulator having delayed its introduction or by an insufficient number of companies bidding for the tender.

Mobile broadband services present a significant growth opportunity. Significant investment has been made in extending 3G infrastructure, while operators have more recently concentrated on LTE. Additional spectrum in the 2600MHz band was auctioned in January 2018, issued under 15-year licenses, and all three MNOs are expected to launch LTE services promptly.

The sizeable broadband market enjoys effective cross-platform competition. DSL remains an important platform though it has been eclipsed by fibre following efforts by operators to build out networks. While LAN and wireless platforms such as Wi-Fi and WiMAX exist on a smaller scale there is ongoing investment aimed at delivering a national wireless network by the end of 2018.

This report provides an overview of Ukraine’s telecom market, including profiles of the major operators and a review of telecom network infrastructure, regulatory measures, and emerging network developments. The report also analyses the mobile market, offering a range of statistics as well as profiles of the key players and an assessment of mobile technology deployments. In addition, the report covers the fixed-line and fixed-wireless broadband sectors.

Key developments:

• ESU fails in petition against Court ruling invalidating the acquisition of a 92.79% stake in Ukrtelecom;
• Ukrtelecom makes progress with network upgrade project with Huawei;
• DREAM cable linking Ukraine to Germany and China opens for traffic;
• Fixed lines in service dip to 7.1 million;
• Regulator raises UAH2.288 billion in 2600MHz auction;
• Kyivstar gains approval for its StarMoney m-payment service;
• Fresh MNP tender declared invalid;
• Regulator sets minimum price for 1800MHz spectrum licences expected to be auctioned in March 2018;
• Vodafone Ukraine preps for commercial LTE launch;
• Report update includes the regulator market data, State Statistics data to December 2017, telcos’ operating and financial data to Q4 2017, recent market developments.

Companies mentioned in this report:

Ukrtelecom, Kyivstar, Datagroup, Eurotranstelecom, Vega, Velton Telecom, Intertelecom, ITC, Telesystems, Ukrainian Radio Systems, Lifecell, Vodafone Ukraine (MTS), Golden Telecom, PAN Wireless, Volia Cable.

Table of Contents
1. Key statistics
1.1 Country overview
2. Telecommunications market
3. Regulatory environment
3.1 Law of Ukraine on Telecommunications
3.2 Regulatory authority
3.3 Government policies
3.3.1 Privatisation
3.3.2 Interconnection
3.3.3 Carrier selection and carrier preselection
3.3.4 Number Portability (NP)
3.3.5 Licensing
3.3.6 Network access
4. Fixed network operators
4.1 Introduction
4.2 Ukrtelecom
4.3 Datagroup
4.4 Eurotranstelecom
4.5 Kyivstar
4.6 Vega
4.7 Wireless Local Loop (WLL) operators
4.7.1 Velton Telecom
4.7.2 Intertelecom
4.7.3 International Telecommunication Company (ITC)/CDMA Ukraine
4.7.4 Telesystems of Ukraine/PEOPLEnet
5. Telecommunications infrastructure
5.1 Overview of the national telecom network
5.1.1 Ukrtelecom
5.1.2 Datagroup
5.1.3 Eurotranstelecom
5.1.4 Kyivstar
5.1.5 Vega
5.2 International infrastructure
5.3 Data centres
6. Broadband market
6.1 Fixed broadband market
6.1.1 Introduction and statistical overview
6.1.2 Hybrid Fibre Coax (HFC) networks
6.1.3 Digital Subscriber Line (DSL) networks
6.1.4 Fibre-to-the-Premises (FttP) networks
6.2 Other fixed broadband services
6.2.1 Fixed wireless (Wi-Fi and WiMAX)
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