Kazan is the first Russian city and one of the first in the world to have put into operation an LTE network.

(Kazan, August 30, Tatar-inform, Mikhail Mironov). Kazan is the first city in Russia to have put into operation the world’s fastest internet network. A 4-generation LTE network was on August 30, the Day of the Republic, solemnly launched. The ceremony was attended by President of Tatarstan Rustam Minnikhanov.

The LTE cellular network was built in Kazan by the Scartel company, providing services under the Yota brand. Mobile internet from Yota is operating with the WiMax technology in several cities in Russia, while in Kazan Scartel decided to launch Russia’s first LTE network.

The only operating LTE network has so far been found in Oslo and Stockholm, which makes Kazan one of the world pioneers in implementing 4-generation communication.

Tatarstan President Rustam Minnikhanov said the decision to set up an LTE network in Kazan had been made on May 13 at a meeting of the modernisation commission, chaired by Russian President. The Electronic Tatarstan system cannot develop without high-speed wireless communication, the Tatar chief executive said, adding that Tatarstan would be an active consumer of the 4G service.

“Your company has proved again its ambition and consistency of promises. I do hope Tatarstan will be a ground for you to test your novel ideas,” he thanked Yota.

“What we have presented in Kazan is the best there is as of today in the world,” the Scartel’s general director Denis Sverdlov enhanced. “Our networks only exist in Sweden and Norway, and are planned for launch in Japan and America.”

To mark the launch of high-speed wireless access to the internet, the guests cut a symbolic cable after which Denis Sverdlov presented an LTE modem to Rustam Minnikhanov.

The guests were shown options of using high-speed mobile internet in various projects within Electronic Tatarstan. High-resolution images were in real time transmitted from emergency services' autos operating the Glonass 112 system.

The LTE network is presently in test operation. This is related to the facts that it needs to be tuned and that the Roskomnadzor regulating authority has so far not made a decision on LTE service certification. “To provide high-quality service and launch it commercially we are going to need 3-4 months, and we expect to be able to do this before the year’s end. We also expect the regulator to make up its mind before the year’s end, so we can certify our network,” Denis Sverdlov stated.

The investment in the 4G network in Kazan has totalled $20 million, he said.

The Scartel LTE network operates within the 2.5-2.7 GHz range, the bandwidth is 10 MHz. The base station’s peak load is up to 300 Mbit/second. In ideal conditions, said Denis Sverdlov, a speed of 90 Mbit/second has been achieved when downloading information. “Of course, with loaded base stations the speed is going to be smaller but LTE is obviously the fastest thing there is. The existing speeds are commensurate with the cable network speed,” Denis Sverdlov is convinced.
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