4G launch hailed as milestone in telecom development in Belarus

The first telecommunication infrastructure operator beCloud launched the LTE Advanced network in Minsk as a commercial service on 17 December. Now Minsk residents and visitors will be able to enjoy fourth-generation mobile communication services, BelTA has learned.

The 4G network has been built by the joint venture Belarusian Cloud Technologies (beCloud) in line with Belarus president decree No. 556 of 13 December 2012. The launch of the fourth-generation network is a result of the successful implementation of the investment project and effective partnership of the state and the private sector. The LTE network launch is the first stage of the large-scale project meant to renew the entire telecommunication infrastructure.

Aide to the Belarus President Vsevolod Yanchevsky noted that the 4G network is just the beginning. “It is very important for Belarus to advance fast in telecommunications and the IT sphere. Because the speed of technological changes in the modern world is just fantastic,” he said.

In the initial deployment phase of the LTE Advanced network in Minsk 4G coverage will be enabled by 150 base stations. The number is sufficient for reliable service in the city. The 4G technology will be made available in the other oblast capitals — Brest, Vitebsk, Gomel, Grodno and Mogilev — in 2016. By 2020 the 4G coverage will be expanded to district capitals and other communities with the number of residents at least as large as 50,000 people.

Created by beCloud Company, the LTE Advanced network will offer services to all the Belarusian mobile carriers.

Belarusian Information Technologies and Communications Minister Sergei Popkov said: “Today we are launching the first stage of the fourth-generation mobile communication network based on the LTE technology. It is another milestone in the development of the national telecommunication industry. The country’s telecommunication community has been waiting for it for a long time. In addition to traditional services such as video content and HD television streaming in real time the LTE technology will allow providing brand new services.”