Three years on from Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine, Kyivstar, the country's biggest operator, has invested significant resources in improving network resilience. While part of the focus is currently on improving network reliability through a partnership with Starlink announced last year, the company also continues to bolster its energy resilience.
"It's like in cybersecurity, you never end this circle of improvement," Kyivstar CTO, Volodymyr Lutchenko said during an interview with Light Reading at Mobile World Congress earlier this month. The government has recently increased the power backup requirement and Kyivstar is working with suppliers on securing additional battery capacity. "We have the biggest network. We have plenty of sites, and that requires millions in investments," Lutchenko said.
Currently, the operator has power backup capacity to operate all sites for up to six hours on average, he noted. Nevertheless, the next step is to bring it up to ten hours as Kyivstar's CEO Oleksandr Komarov said in February, according to local media, which is in line with a government requirement issued last year.
Still, Lutchenko stressed the progress already made: "Honestly, I can tell you the situation, compared to 2022-2023, is much, much better with the network resilience than it was before."
Three years on from Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine, Kyivstar, the country's biggest operator, has invested significant resources in improving network resilience. While part of the focus is currently on improving network reliability through a partnership with Starlink announced last year, the company also continues to bolster its energy resilience.
"It's like in cybersecurity, you never end this circle of improvement," Kyivstar CTO, Volodymyr Lutchenko said during an interview with Light Reading at Mobile World Congress earlier this month. The government has recently increased the power backup requirement and Kyivstar is working with suppliers on securing additional battery capacity. "We have the biggest network. We have plenty of sites, and that requires millions in investments," Lutchenko said.
Currently, the operator has power backup capacity to operate all sites for up to six hours on average, he noted. Nevertheless, the next step is to bring it up to ten hours as Kyivstar's CEO Oleksandr Komarov said in February, according to local media, which is in line with a government requirement issued last year.
Still, Lutchenko stressed the progress already made: "Honestly, I can tell you the situation, compared to 2022-2023, is much, much better with the network resilience than it was before."
Initially, it will focus on SMS and OTT messaging, with voice and data expected to follow. Still, Polshakov said the service will extend the terrestrial network and support customers in case the terrestrial network isn't available, such as in case of a blackout.
Initially, the technology will be rolled out without a need for a subscription, although the company will think more about commercial aspects of the deployment in future, Polshakov said, adding currently the focus is on deploying the technology, providing it to customers and supporting Ukraine. Over the next 12 months, Kyivstar intends to see how the technology works, according to Polshakov: "We hear, from T-Mobile, great references, but still, a lot of things should be done at home, jointly, with a partner," he said.
Only few operators in the world have so far introduced D2D messaging, with T-Mobile having launched the service to select customers under a beta program in February. The Australian telco Telstra has also partnered with Starlink to launch a similar service.
Starlink, as has been much discussed, is being used by the Ukrainian military, as well as civilians who subscribe to the US satellite service to stay connected. Nevertheless, recent comments made by Elon Musk, the founder and CEO of Starlink's parent SpaceX, and his links to the current US administration, have prompted some to question whether the European satellite player Eutelsat may provide an alternative.
While Lutchenko and Polshakov would not comment publicly on geopolitical questions, Kyivstar has previously stressed the commercial nature of the relationship and expressed confidence in Starlink's ability to execute the deal.
Kyivstar has also continued to expand its terrestrial network. The company currently has 96% of Ukraine's population covered by LTE, Lutchenko said, and it plans to cover all international and national roads with uninterrupted 4G by the year's end. This will be a big milestone, he said, adding Kyivstar will be the only operator to have achieved it.
At the same time, the company needs support from the government to get there, Lutchenko said, when it comes to simplifying administrative procedures and getting power supply for more remote areas.
In February, the World Bank released its fourth rapid damage and needs assessment, which calculates the monetary value of destroyed and damaged assets, losses due to changes in economic flows, and priorities for recovery and reconstruction.
In the telecommunications sector, it said total damages to fixed and mobile operators have reached $968.5 million and $942.5 million, respectively. Losses stood at $507.5 million for mobile operators and $466.6 million for fixed operators.
According to Lutchenko, around 5.5% of Kyivstar's network is currently in occupied parts of Ukraine. He noted the percentage has gone down as Kyivstar added more sites elsewhere in Ukraine. The Council on Foreign Relations estimates Russia occupies roughly 20% of Ukrainian territory, which includes areas like Crimea that came under occupation before the 2022 full-scale invasion.
Apart from the war, which continues to be the biggest challenge for the operator, the second largest obstacle is the "lack of qualified personnel everywhere," Lutchenko said. In some areas, the company has been working with vendors, he said, adding "they are doing a great job in this direction."
Nevertheless, "for some areas, you cannot rely on the vendors, because simply they don't have that kind of people, or those people should be present in Ukraine." In such cases, the company tries to reserve critical employees from mobilization or to train young talented staff. This is a problem that's not unique to Kyivstar or the telecom industry, he added.
Despite the war, Ukrainian operators are slowly gearing up to adopt 5G, although it's unclear when auctions may happen. Lutchenko stated that "it's in the plans for upcoming years." The government is, however, trying to organize all operators to conduct field test of 5G in cities like Lviv, Kyiv or Odessa, he added.
On Kyivstar's side, this will involve working with its main vendors, as well as Rakuten, with which the company has been working on testing open RAN technology. Currently, the project is in "the final stage of first stage," Lutchenko said, adding he expects to have results by the end of Q2. Simultaneously, the companies are discussing next steps, which would involve a small-scale 5G pilot.
The idea is to "build a live test of 5G," Lutchenko noted, and compare it with the main vendors.
At the same time, the company is moving ahead with its plans to acquire Uklon, a ride-hailing company, in what is a continuation of its expansion beyond telecom. In both B2B and B2C, Kyivstar is seeking to build an ecosystem of services to provide to its clients as it transitions from telco to techco. Polshakov highlighted the rapid growth in demand for digital services, with revenues in this area expected to double this year.