State-backed telecoms giant Rostelecom has announced that it has launched its third commercial HSPA+ network in the Ulyanovsk Oblast, through its regional subsidiary ZAO. Dmitry Proskura, the head of Rostelecom’s Volga macro-regional branch, noted: ‘Ulyanovsk Oblast is the first area in the Volga Region to be provided with 3G access by Rostelecom, which is being delivered through its subsidiary ZAO. Construction is currently nearing an end, and the service will be operational in the coming months. [Going forward] additional 3G networks are expected to be launched in Nizhny Novgorod Oblast, Samara Oblast, Penza Oblast, Saratov Oblast, Orenburg Oblast and the Republic of Tatarstan’.
According to TeleGeography’s GlobalComms Database Rostelecom is in the process of rolling out 3G networks in 27 Russian regions, with vendors Ericsson and Huawei deploying a total of 8,000 base stations in the company’s target markets. In November 2012 Rostelecom subsidiary Baikalwestcom (BWC) inaugurated the group’s first 3G network in the Irkutsk Oblast. February 2013 saw the second HSPA+ network go live, in Primorsky Krai, through the group’s AKOS subsidiary. Rostelecom and its assorted regional subsidiaries claimed a 2G subscriber base of around 13.56 million at the end of December 2012.