Rostelecom to launch LTE test network in August

Russian operator Rostelecom plans to launch its Long Term Evolution (LTE) test network in Penza by the end of August, reports RBC Daily. Aside from Penza, Rostelecom’s experimental LTE network zone will also be deployed in Tambov and Pyatigorsk. In March Rostelecom won a permit to build a wireless broadband access network that will eventually cover a third of the Russian population. The licence gave the operator 30MHz of spectrum in the 2.3GHz - 2.4GHz band for each constituent region. Under the conditions of its licence, Rostelecom has 18 months to build and launch its 4G network, using Russian-made equipment. According to TeleGeography’s GlobalComms Database, Rostelecom won concessions to 38 of the 40 Russian regions covered by March’s LTE tender.