Belarus Telecom Ministry ready to allocate four licences for potential 5G network operators

<p> MINSK, Sep 28 - PrimePress. The Ministry of Communications and Informatization of Belarus is ready to allocate four licences for potential operators of the 5G network. Dmitry Korzun, Head of the Department for Telecommunications and Spectrum Regulation of the Ministry of Communications, made a statement to this effect at the 5th conference on spectrum management in the CIS and Central and Eastern Europe, which was organized by ForumGlobal and the International Telecommunication Union (ITU). </p> <p>   </p> <p> “Based on the work we have done, we have seen that we are ready to allocate four licences for potential operators,” Korzun said. </p> <p>   </p> <p> The parameters for the work of potential operators in the 5G network were specified by Alexey Ivashkin, head of the Republican Unitary Enterprise for Supervision of Telecommunications, BelGIE. </p> <p>   </p> <p> “In accordance with the global harmonised spectrum allocation adopted by the International Telecommunication Union and the European Union, taking into account refarming and conversion in Belarus, the 40 MHz band in the 700 and 800 MHz band, and the 400 MHz band in the 3.6 GHz band are being considered. This makes it possible to offer one of the four potential operators a set of two radio frequency channels, 10MHz in the 700-800MHz band and 100MHz in the 3.6GHz band,” Ivashkin said. </p> <p>   </p> <p> According to Korzun, Belarus has set up a high-level working group to develop a strategy for a 5G telecommunications network. It includes representatives of the Ministry of Communications, the Ministry of Finance, the Ministry of Economy, the Defence Industries, the Hi-Tech Park and other agencies. The working group has worked out a system of requirements for licence applicants. </p> <p>   </p> <p> “Our system of requirements implies coverage of 99% of the population within five years fr om the start of network construction. We start with coverage of Minsk City and regional centres, wh ere we see that the operator will see the first return on investment. We pay a lot of attention to highways as well. We are a transit country and have to think about it. Thus, by the fourth year since the allocation of the radio frequency spectrum, the main routes are expected to be covered. As a result, which we are striving for and we have written this requirement into the government’s action program for the period till 2025 - to provide coverage of 99% of the population with 4G and 5G mobile telecommunication services by the end of 2025,” Korzun said. </p> <p>   </p> <p> At the moment three mobile operators (A1, MTS, life:) are operating in Belarus, offering voice and Internet access services in the second and third generation networks, as well as data services on the basis of the fourth generation LTE network, owned by the infrastructure operator BeCloud. </p> <p>   </p> <p> At the moment a draft strategy for the fifth generation network in Belarus has been drawn up. According to Korzun, no negative feedback from the authorities concerned has been received. </p> <p>   </p> <p> “We still have under consideration three possible models for the introduction of 5G networks in Belarus. So far no final decision has been taken. Discussions on the issue are underway,” Korzun said. </p> <p>   </p> <p> As previously reported, the choice of the model was discussed by the regulator together with mobile operators. </p> <p>   </p> <p> The first is an infrastructure model, involving the construction of 5G network infrastructure by a single infrastructure operator. </p> <p>   </p> <p> The second is a competitive model, involving the construction of 5G network infrastructure (passive and active) by each of the operators. In order to optimise costs, the cooperation of operators in the construction of transport infrastructure (fibre-optic communication lines, FOCL) is assumed. </p> <p>   </p> <p> The third model is the model of joint use of passive infrastructure, involving the construction of active 5G network infrastructure by each operator within the radio frequency spectrum allocated to the operator, and the construction of passive infrastructure (transport network, antenna-mast structures, FOCL) by a single infrastructure operator. End </p>

2021-09-29

Primepress