OREANDA-NEWS. December 18, 2009. Russian mobile operator Sky Link is prepared to build and launch in 2010 a test LTE network in Russia, the company’s CEO Gulnara Khasyanova told journalists Thursday. Early this week, Big3 cellular operators – MTS, VimpelCom and MegaFon - were authorized to roll out a 3G outdoor network in Moscow.

The companies spent more than two years on regulatory approvals. Sky Link is prepared to launch a pilot LTE network at 1,800 MHz. We have written a letter to the Telecom Ministry and are waiting for a reply”, Khasyanova said. The pilot network itself will be small, 10-20 base stations. The Telecom Ministry has received Sky Link’s letter but, the “issue of rolling out a pilot LTE network needs to be discussed and worked out”, the ministry’s press secretary Elena Lashkina said.