Russia's telecoms regulator has revoked the permission it gave to Scartel, operating under the Yota brand, to use some of its spectrum to build an LTE network, according to Russian newspaper Vedomosti. In May, Scartel announced its intention to abandon its WiMAX rollout plans and opt for LTE with rollout plans slated for five Russian cities this year.
The regulator, citing Scartel's move as a violation of the law, has banned a strip of 20-30 MHz allocated to Yota in the range of 2.5 to 2.7 GHz in 170 major cities of Russia, including Moscow and St. Petersburg. Scartel, however, says its LTE introduction plans won't be impacted. The company's CEO plans to address the issue at a press conference today.
In 2008, Scartel rolled out WiMAX networks in Moscow, St. Petersburg and three other Russian cities in the 2.5 to 2.7 GHz bands.
For more:
- see this LTE World article
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