The Ministry of Digital Development plans to postpone the coverage of LTE routes and populated areas

The Ministry of Digital Development plans to postpone the coverage of most populated areas with the LTE communication network from 2025 to 2027. For the use of frequencies for this standard, back in 2013, operators were obliged to fully provide 4G communications to federal highways and populated areas with more than 1 thousand residents within eight years. But the ministry has already postponed the deadline twice. The main reasons for the next transfer, according to market participants, were the lack of equipment and the problem with connecting to energy networks.

“Kommersant” got acquainted with the preliminary decision of the State Commission on Radio Frequencies (SCRF) to change the terms of obligations of telecom operators for 100% LTE communications coverage of federal highways and settlements with a population of more than a thousand people. The document says that the date for full compliance with the SCRF conditions for settlements is shifted to September 2027. According to Kommersant, the SCRF meeting will take place on December 27. The head of the Ministry of Digital Development, Maksut Shadayev, confirmed to Kommersant that the issue will be discussed at the next meeting of the commission, but “a final decision has not yet been made.”

In 2012, VimpelCom, MTS, MegaFon and Rostelecom (later transferred to subsidiary Tele2) received frequencies for cellular communications of the LTE standard. In 2013, for their use, the SCRF obliged operators to provide LTE to all settlements with a population of 1 thousand or more by 2021. In 2021, the deadline for covering settlements was moved to the end of 2024, and an obligation to cover federal highways was also added – until 2031. In March 2022, the Ministry of Digital Development, as a measure to support operators, released them from these obligations until the end of the year. Thus, the deadlines for fulfilling obligations to cover settlements have been moved to 2025, and roads to 2032.

If the SCRF makes a new decision, then the conditions for populated areas will shift again – to the end of 2027, but the road coverage will remain the same, follows from the commission’s draft decision. Meanwhile, even the networks of previous generations have not been able to achieve full coverage of federal highways. Thus, according to Roskomnadzor, three federal highways are covered by 2G and 3G standard communication networks by less than 90% – M-52 Chuysky Trakt (86.8%), M-54 Yenisei (87.7%) and M -56 “Lena” (64.1%). The agency does not provide information on the coverage of roads with LTE networks. The Ministry of Digital Development, VimpelCom, Tele2, MegaFon, and MTS declined to comment.

A Kommersant source among large telecom operators believes that the main reason for the next postponement was the lack of equipment – the first prototypes of Russian base stations will appear only in 2025: “To provide routes with communications, you need a large amount of equipment, which is now in short supply.” Another Kommersant interlocutor in the telecommunications market agrees with him: “Now large players are experiencing even more significant difficulties with equipment than medium-sized ones.” In addition, he clarifies, operators have problems maintaining and upgrading equipment running on networks, “so there are not enough resources for remote areas.”

Another Kommersant source among large telecom operators claims that the main problem with road coverage is the lack of a sufficient number of connection points to power grids: “If the issue with electricity is resolved, then there will be no problems with providing coverage.”

Alexey Boyko, an analyst at the profile telegram channel @abloud62, calls the decision to shift the deadlines “reasonable and relevant.” “Purchasing foreign cellular communication equipment for Russian operators is difficult to the point of being almost inaccessible. Under these conditions, it is hardly possible to fulfill obligations to develop networks,” he believes. At the same time, Mr. Boyko notes, the operators generally coped with their obligations “and tried to comply with them.” The analyst believes that in 2025-2026, companies will be able to return to infrastructure construction, since domestic equipment should appear, “suitable for providing highways and sparsely populated areas, if domestic manufacturers do not fail.”

Alexey Zhabin