OREANDA-NEWS. MegaFon, the leading Russian telecommunications operator, today announced the commercial launch of an LTE Advanced network. The company's customers can already access record mobile Internet speeds of up to 300 Mb/s. According to the Global mobile Suppliers Association (GSA), MegaFon today offers its customers the fastest mobile Internet speed in the world. The network infrastructure and subscriber equipment was produced by Huawei, a leading ICT solutions provider.

MegaFon is the first in the world to offer its clients the unique opportunities that come with super high speed Internet access using the latest LTE Advanced (Cat 6) standard. To build the new standard network, MegaFon is using a unique combination covering a spread of 2,600Mhz of its own band spectrum and the frequency resource of Scartel as a mobile virtual network operator (MVNO). Data costs on the new network will be the same as for 3G and 4G.

"MegaFon is the leader on the Russian market when it comes to exploiting the latest communications technologies. The company's clients already have access to the biggest 4G network in the country. Now we are moving to modernize this network and commercially launching the world's fastest network using the latest LTE Advanced standard. Our clients will be the first in the world to get access to the incredible opportunities offered by wireless Internet at up to 300Mb/s. We would like to thank our colleagues at Huawei, whose leadership and technological prowess have made it possible to implement this ambitious project", - said Mikhail Dubin, Executive Director, Consumer Business, OJSC MegaFon.

The new network currently works within the Garden Ring in Moscow, Russia. Throughout 2014, network coverage will be expanded to encompass the entire area within the Moscow Automobile Ring Road (MKAD). In future, the company plans to expand coverage to include Russia's largest cities.

"Working with companies that are the leaders in their segments is a guarantee that clients will get the best quality service at every stage of implementation. Huawei is an LTE and LTE A leader; 14 of the 37 test or planned LTE Advanced network roll-outs have been built using Huawei equipment. The company provided the latest and most hi-tech equipment for MegaFon's network infrastructure, as well as subscriber equipment capable of taking full advantage of the benefits offered by the latest super high speed mobile network", - said Wan Biao, Member of Board Directors Huawei Technologies Ltd., Co., CEO Huawei Russia.

A new brand name, 4G+, has been developed specifically to promote mobile Internet from MegaFon, the fastest mobile Internet in Russia*. The new brand's main aim will be to demonstrate the speeds possible using MegaFon that are as yet unachievable for other telecom providers.

"GSA is delighted to welcome the world's first commercial launch of a 300 Mbps LTE-Advanced network today by MegaFon. We congratulate this pioneering achievement by MegaFon and their partners and applaud their strategy to deliver the best possible mobile broadband user experience", - said Alan Hadden, President of GSA (Global mobile Suppliers Association).

The new network's capabilities were first demonstrated during the Olympic Winter Games in Sochi; visitors to MegaFon's pavilion in the Olympic Park could experience the incredible speed of LTE Advanced for themselves. Throughout the Olympics, specialists from MegaFon and Huawei tested how the new network works at the heavy loads typical of large events. The results of these tests will be used to build and modernize the new standard network in the capital and other regions.

To access the LTE Advanced network, MegaFon customers can purchase the latest MegaFon Space router (R300-1), which has been developed by Huawei. The router can provide Wi-Fi access to the LTE Advanced network for 32 devices simultaneously. It costs 11,990 rubles if purchased along with the Internet XL option for one month or more. Customers can purchase the router in flagship MegaFon stores in Moscow at the following addresses: Ul. Tverskaya 17, Ul. 1-ya Tverskaya-Yamskaya 6 and Red Square 3 (GUM Shopping Center).

MegaFon offers the fastest mobile Internet speed according to research carried out by Telecom Daily in 11 major Russian cities in December 2013.