The Ministry of Communications and Informatisation (Minsvyazi) reports that 4G LTE coverage will have been extended to all regional centres of Belarus by the end of this year. Telecoms minister Sergei Popkov says that currently, 60% of the population can access a 4G network in a number of areas, such as the capital, and other regional centres. In addition, Popkov notes that 3G networks now cover 96.5% of the country where 99.9% of the population lives.
In a separate update, Minsvyazi has updated the progress of the ongoing GPON network rollout in Belarus, which it says will see all apartment houses across the country connected to GPON infrastructure before the end of 2018. ‘We are actively working [toward this], by switching to the new technologies of the so-called ‘last mile’ – i.e. GPONtechnology,’ Popkov said, adding: ‘By the end of 2018, our national operator Beltelecom will provide all multi-apartment buildings in the country with optical [fibre connections], which will fully satisfy all requests for services like telephony and digital television, and data transmission, including the new concept of ‘Smart Home’ services.’ As at 30 June 2017, the minister confirmed that the number of subscribers connected via GPON technology reached 1.39 million, a net 300,000 rise since the start of the year.