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Russia round-up: AKADO receives national telecoms licence; state launches Express-AM6 telecoms satellite; Rostelecom goes for VoIP; MTS doubles its... [TeleGeography CommsUpdate](TeleGeography CommsUpdate Via Acquire Media NewsEdge) Russia round-up: AKADO receives national telecoms licence; state launches Express-AM6 telecoms satellite; Rostelecom goes for VoIP; MTS doubles its LTE coverage in Chelyabinsk Moscow-based *AKADO Telecom* has reportedly received a licence to provide telecoms services throughout Russia, ComNews reports. Until now, the operator has only held appropriate licences for Moscow and St Petersburg, as well as the regions of Moscow, Leningrad and Sverdlovsk. Going forward, the telco plans to boost its share of the corporate user segment in the country, it said. *Russia has successfully launched a new telecoms satellite, *Express-AM6*, which was carried on board the Proton-M rocket that took off from the Baikonur space centre in Kazakhstan yesterday. The new Express-series communications satellite has an active lifespan of 15 years and carries eleven antennas as well as 72 C-, Ku-, Ka- and L-band transponders. Express-AM6 will be operated by the *Russian Satellite Communications Company (RSCC)* to provide a range of communications and broadcasting services across the Russian territory.*National operator *Rostelecom* is looking to offer customers a 'Skype-like' voice-over-internet protocol (VoIP) service, and to that end has issued a tender for the supply of equipment and software to support the launch. It is understood that four firms – Tekhnoserv, Tekigent, CTI and Inline Telecom Solutions – have submitted bids for the contract, with the winner due to be announced on 6 November. With the VoIP service due to be launched in H1 2015, Rostelecom is reportedly ploughing RUB73 million (USD1.78 million) into the project in the launch phase. Earlier this week, Rostelecom launched a triple-play offer and set out its stall to offer quad-play packages over the network of its joint venture with *Tele2 Russia*, *T2 RTC Holding*, in which Rostelecom owns a 45% interest.*Mobile operator *MTS Russia* says it doubled its 4G Long Term Evolution (LTE) coverage in the Chelyabinsk region in 3Q14, providing mobile broadband internet services at speeds up to 75Mbps to residents of seven settlements of the region, including Chrysostom Kopeysk. In a press release, the carrier said that in the period under review it also deployed LTE to a number of new areas, including Petrovsky and Roshino, and to the territory of Agapovka Kremenkulskogo. Additionally, LTE network coverage was further expanded in Chelyabinsk, Magnitogorsk and Miasse. MTS Russia says that since launching its 4G network, the volume of data traffic in the region has more than doubled when compared with 2Q14. (c) 2014 PriMetrica, Inc. All Rights Reserved. Provided by SyndiGate Media Inc. (Syndigate.info). |