Telecommunications in Ukraine
Telecommunications is one of the most modern, diverse and fast-growing sectors in the economy of Ukraine. Unlike country's dominating export industries, the telecommunications, as well as the related Internet sector, remain largely unaffected by the global economic crisis, ranking high in European and global rankings.
The industry also leads in demonopolization of Ukraine's economy as Ukrtelekom (once the country's sole telephone provider) was successfully privatized, and is now losing its retail market share to independent, foreign-invested private providers.
The entire population of Ukraine now has telephone and/or mobile phone connection;[lower-alpha 1] Internet access is universally available in cities and main transport corridors, expanding into smaller settlements.
Ukraine's telecommunication development plan emphasizes further improving domestic trunk lines, international connections, and the mobile cellular system.
International data network
Two new domestic trunk lines are a part of the fiber-optic Trans-Asia-Europe (TAE) system and three Ukrainian links have been installed in the fiber-optic Trans-European Lines (TEL) project that connects 18 countries; additional international service is provided by the Italy-Turkey-Ukraine-Russia (ITUR) fiber-optic submarine cable and by earth stations in the Intelsat, Inmarsat, and Intersputnik satellite systems.
Fixed telephone network
Telephones - land lines in use: 12.681 million (2011)
Upon gaining independence from the USSR in 1991, Ukraine inherited an analog PSTN telephone system that was antiquated, inefficient, and in many places in disrepair; meanwhile demand overwhelmed the supply with more than 3.5 million households applications for telephone lines pending. Telephone density has since risen and the domestic trunk system is being improved; about one-third of Ukraine's networks are digital, and the majority of regional centers now have digital switching stations. Improvements in local networks and local exchanges continue to lag.
Several independent fixed network providers established themselves on the country's retail market, although Ukrtelecom still dominates it.
Mobile phone networks
Market penetration
The mobile cellular telephone system's expansion has slowed, largely due to the saturation of the market, which has reached 125 mobile phones per 100 people.
Telephones - mobile cellular: 55.578 million (2011)
Mobile phone networks
Rank | Operator | Technology | Subscribers (in millions) | Ownership | MCC / MNC |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Kyivstar
(Including previous Beeline Ukraine network) |
900/1800 MHz GSM (GPRS, EDGE) 2100 MHz UMTS, HSDPA, HSUPA, HSPA, HSPA+, DC-HSPA+ 900/1800/2600 MHz LTE, LTE-A VoLTE |
25.9 (2Q 2021) | Veon | 25503 and 25502 |
2 | Vodafone (Formerly MTS Ukraine) | 900/1800 MHz GSM (GPRS, EDGE) 2100 MHz UMTS, HSDPA, HSUPA, HSPA, HSPA+, DC-HSPA+ 900/1800/2600 MHz LTE, LTE-A | 18.9 (2Q 2021) | Bakcell | 25501 |
3 | Lifecell (Formerly Life) | 900/1800 MHz GSM (GPRS, EDGE) 2100 MHz UMTS, HSDPA, HSUPA, HSPA, HSPA+, DC-HSPA+, 3C-HSDPA 900/1800/2600 MHz LTE, LTE-A, LTE-A Pro | 9.9 (Q3 2021) | Turkcell | 25506 |
4 | Intertelecom | 800 MHz CDMA2000, CDMA2000 EV-DO rel.0, rev. A, rev. B
(The gradual shutdown of the network began in many regions since 2020) |
1.4 (3Q 2017) | Odinaco Ltd (49%), Victor Gushan (35.7%) | 25504 |
5 | TriMob | 2100 MHz UMTS, HSDPA, HSUPA, HSPA
(Own 3G network in Kyiv city centre only. Free 2G/3G roaming on Vodafone network available) |
0.300 (2Q 2018) excluding Lycamobile | Ukrtelecom | 25507 |
6 | PEOPLEnet | 800 MHz CDMA2000, CDMA2000 EV-DO (Network in Dnipropetrovsk region only) | 0.853 (4Q 2012) | Telesystemy Ukrainy | 25521 |
Mobile phone manufacturers
The following companies in Ukraine are manufacturing mobile phones:
- Borton
- Impression Electronics[1]
Internet in Ukraine
- country code - .ua
- Internet hosts: 2.173 million (2012)
- Internet users: 41,8 million (2013)
Telecommunications-related government bodies
- Ministry of Infrastructure of Ukraine (Official website (in Ukrainian))
- State Special Communications Service of Ukraine (Official website)
- National Commission for the State Regulation of Communications and Informatization of Ukraine (Official website)
Notes
- except for a few very remote and sparsely inhabited settlements
References
- "Производство". impression.ua. Retrieved 2019-02-28.
External links
Industry-specific media
- Watcher: (in Ukrainian) - Ukrainian Internet business and marketing online newspaper
- ProIT (in Russian) - Ukrainian IT industry online newspaper
- AIN (in Russian) - Ukrainian IT industry online newspaper