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Telecommunications is one of the most modern, diverse and fast-growing sectors in the economy of Ukraine . Unlike country's dominating export industries, the telecommunications, as well as the related Internet sector, remain largely unaffected by the global economic crisis, ranking high in European and global rankings.
The industry also leads in demonopolization of Ukraine's economy as Ukrtelekom (once the country's sole telephone provider) was successfully privatized, and is now losing its retail market share to independent, foreign-invested private providers.
The entire population of Ukraine now has telephone and/or mobile phone connection; [lower-alpha 1] Internet access is universally available in cities and main transport corridors, expanding into smaller settlements.
Ukraine's telecommunication development plan emphasizes further improving domestic trunk lines, international connections, and the mobile cellular system.
During the Russian invasion of Ukraine, telecommunications were provided by the Starlink satellite service. [1] [2]
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Two new domestic trunk lines are a part of the fiber-optic Trans-Asia-Europe (TAE) system and three Ukrainian links have been installed in the fiber-optic Trans-European Lines (TEL) project that connects 18 countries; additional international service is provided by the Italy-Turkey-Ukraine-Russia (ITUR) fiber-optic submarine cable and by earth stations in the Intelsat, Inmarsat, and Intersputnik satellite systems.
Telephones - land lines in use: 12.681 million (2011)
Upon gaining independence from the USSR in 1991, Ukraine inherited an analog PSTN telephone system that was antiquated, inefficient, and in many places in disrepair; meanwhile demand overwhelmed the supply with more than 3.5 million households applications for telephone lines pending. Telephone density has since risen and the domestic trunk system is being improved; about one-third of Ukraine's networks are digital, and the majority of regional centers now have digital switching stations. Improvements in local networks and local exchanges continue to lag.
Several independent fixed network providers established themselves on the country's retail market, although Ukrtelecom still dominates it.
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The mobile cellular telephone system's expansion has slowed, largely due to the saturation of the market, which has reached 125 mobile phones per 100 people.
Telephones - mobile cellular: 55.578 million (2011)
Rank | Operator | Technology | Subscribers (in millions) | Ownership | MCC / MNC |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Kyivstar (Including previous Beeline Ukraine network) | 900/1800 MHz GSM (GPRS, EDGE) 2100 MHz UMTS, HSDPA, HSUPA, HSPA, HSPA+, DC-HSPA+ 900/1800/2100/2300/2600 MHz LTE, LTE-A VoLTE | 25.9 (2Q 2021) | Veon | 25503 and 25502 |
2 | Vodafone (Formerly MTS Ukraine) | 900/1800 MHz GSM (GPRS, EDGE) 2100 MHz UMTS, HSDPA, HSUPA, HSPA, HSPA+, DC-HSPA+ 900/1800/2100/2600 MHz LTE, LTE-A | 18.9 (2Q 2021) | Bakcell | 25501 |
3 | Lifecell (Formerly Life) | 900/1800 MHz GSM (GPRS, EDGE) 2100 MHz UMTS, HSDPA, HSUPA, HSPA, HSPA+, DC-HSPA+, 3C-HSDPA 900/1800/2100/2600 MHz LTE, LTE-A, LTE-A Pro | 9.9 (Q3 2021) | Turkcell | 25506 |
4 | Intertelecom | 800 MHz CDMA2000, CDMA2000 EV-DO rel.0, rev. A, rev. B (The gradual shutdown of the network began in many regions since 2020) | 1.4 (3Q 2017) | Odinaco Ltd (49%), Viktor Gushan (35.7%) | 25504 |
5 | TriMob | 2100 MHz UMTS, HSDPA, HSUPA, HSPA (Own 3G network in Kyiv city centre only. Free 2G/3G roaming on Vodafone network available) | 0.300 (2Q 2018) excluding Lycamobile | Ukrtelecom | 25507 |
6 | PEOPLEnet | 800 MHz CDMA2000, CDMA2000 EV-DO (Network in Dnipropetrovsk region only) | 0.853 (4Q 2012) | Telesystemy Ukrainy | 25521 |
The following companies in Ukraine are manufacturing mobile phones:
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300 (2007)
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Ukraine's military and government rapidly became dependent on SpaceX's Starlink satellite services during Russian's invasion of Ukraine in 2022, as Russia attacked key infrastructures including telecommunication ones, and Ukraine was experiencing significant problems with Internet access. [4] [5] [6]
Satellite internet from SpaceX had key telecommunications role such as in the Siege of Azovstal (April 15–May 20), which helped Ukrainian defenders to resist Russian troops in Mariupol. [7]
While military and government use of the Starlink has been the most important aspect of opening Ukraine to low-altitude satellite internet services in early 2022, civilians are also heavily using the technology "to keep in touch with the outside world and tell loved ones that they are alive." During the war, Ukrainians can use Starlink terminals without paying the usual monthly subscription fee. [8]
To pay for the cost of Starlink in Ukraine, SpaceX donated for an estimate of over $100 million, [9] while an unknown amount was secured by several European countries and the US government. [10] [1] In June 2023, The Pentagon communicated that the Department of Defense signed a contract with SpaceX's Starlink to buy those satellite services for Ukraine. [1]
The use of Starlink in Russian-occupied territories in Ukraine was however restricted by SpaceX, according to Ukrainian officials. [6]
Telecommunications in Antigua and Barbuda are via media in the telecommunications industry.
Telecommunications in France are highly developed. France is served by an extensive system of automatic telephone exchanges connected by modern networks of fiber-optic cable, coaxial cable, microwave radio relay, and a domestic satellite system; cellular telephone service is widely available, expanding rapidly, and includes roaming service to foreign countries.
Telecommunications in Georgia include radio, television, fixed and mobile telephones, and the Internet.
Jordan has a highly developed communications infrastructure. Jordan's telecom infrastructure is growing at a very rapid pace and continually being updated and expanded. Communications in Jordan occur across many media, including telephone, radio, television, and internet.
Telecommunications in Kuwait provides information about the telephone, Internet, radio, and television infrastructure in Kuwait.
Telecommunications in Kyrgyzstan include fixed and mobile telephones and the Internet.
The People's Republic of China possesses a diversified communications system that links all parts of the country by Internet, telephone, telegraph, radio, and television. The country is served by an extensive system of automatic telephone exchanges connected by modern networks of fiber-optic cable, coaxial cable, microwave radio relay, and a domestic satellite system; cellular telephone service is widely available, expanding rapidly, and includes roaming service to foreign countries. Fiber to the x infrastructure has been expanded rapidly in recent years.
The telecommunications in Russia has undergone significant changes since the 1980s, radio was a major new technology in the 1920s, when the Communists had recently come to power. Soviet authorities realized that the "ham" operator was highly individualistic and encouraged private initiative – too much so for the totalitarian regime. Criminal penalties were imposed but the working solution was to avoid broadcasting over the air. Instead radio programs were transmitted by copper wire, using a hub and spoke system, to loudspeakers in approved listening stations, such as the "Red" corner of a factory. This resulted in thousands of companies licensed to offer communication services today. Due to the enormous size of the country Russia today, the country leads in the number of TV broadcast stations and repeaters. The foundation for liberalization of broadcasting was laid by the decree signed by the President of the USSR in 1990. Telecommunication is mainly regulated through the Federal Law "On Communications" and the Federal Law "On Mass Media"
Turkmenistan has a state-controlled press and monitored communication systems. Turkmenistan's telecommunications services are considered to be the least developed of all the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) countries. Overall, the telecom market in this predominantly rural country is relatively small but has been trying boldly to expand in recent years. The state-owned Turkmen Telecom has been the primary provider of public telephone, email and internet services, and through a subsidiary has been operating a GSM mobile network in competition with a private mobile operator, BCTI.
Communications in the United States include extensive industries and distribution networks in print and telecommunication. The primary telecom regulator of communications in the United States is the Federal Communications Commission.
Telecommunications in Azerbaijan provides information about television, radio, fixed and mobile telephones, and the Internet in Azerbaijan. The Azerbaijan economy has been markedly stronger recently and, not surprisingly, the country has been making progress in developing ICT sector. Nonetheless, it still faces problems. These include poor infrastructure and an immature telecom regulatory regime. The Ministry of Communications and Information Technologies of Azerbaijan (MCIT), as well as being an operator through its role in Aztelekom, is both a policy-maker and regulator.
Telecommunications in Cuba consists mainly of NTSC analog television, analog radio, telephony, AMPS, D-AMPS, and GSM mobile telephony, and the Internet. Telephone service is provided through ETECSA, mobile telephone service is provided through the Cellular Telephone Company of Cuba (CUBACEL) and, previously, Caribbean Cellular. Cuba's main international telecommunications links are through Intersputnik, with limited effectiveness of undersea telephone cables to the Americas, Spain, and possibly Italy due to underdevelopment.
A satellite telephone, satellite phone or satphone is a type of mobile phone that connects to other phones or the telephone network by radio link through satellites orbiting the Earth instead of terrestrial cell sites, as cellphones do. Therefore, they can work in most geographic locations on the Earth's surface, as long as open sky and the line-of-sight between the phone and the satellite are provided. Depending on the architecture of a particular system, coverage may include the entire Earth or only specific regions. Satellite phones provide similar functionality to terrestrial mobile telephones; voice calling, text messaging, and low-bandwidth Internet access are supported through most systems. The advantage of a satellite phone is that it can be used in such regions where local terrestrial communication infrastructures, such as landline and cellular networks, are not available.
The history of mobile phones covers mobile communication devices that connect wirelessly to the public switched telephone network.
The Internet in Ukraine is well developed and steadily growing, mostly uninfluenced by the global financial crisis; in April 2012 rapid growth was forecast for at least two more years. As of 2011, Ukraine was ranked 9th in the "Top 10 Internet countries in Europe", with then 33.9% Internet penetration and 15.3 million users; growing to 36.8% in 2012. However, as of January 2021 about 30 million Ukrainians were Internet users.
The Internet in Chile has its roots in experimental tests conducted in 1986 between the Universidad de Chile and the Universidad de Santiago de Chile, the two main public universities in the country. Its commercialization began in the mid-1990s, and it experienced widespread adoption in the second half of the 2000s. Before this, Chile had previously attempted the Cybersyn project in 1971, which aimed to establish an almost real-time economic information transfer system with the government, but it did not succeed.
Telecommunications in Antarctica is provided by the organizations that have established research stations on the continent. Antarctica is not formally designated by the International Telecommunication Union (ITU) in any of the world zones.
Starlink is a satellite internet constellation operated by Starlink Services, LLC, a wholly-owned subsidiary of American aerospace company SpaceX, providing coverage to 102 countries. It also aims to provide global mobile broadband.
The Mobile phone industry in Ukraine started in 1993 in analog, and its digital industry showed rapid growth, although there have been ups and downs.
In February 2022, two days after Russia's full-scale invasion, Ukraine requested American aerospace company SpaceX to activate their Starlink satellite internet service in the country to replace internet and communication networks degraded or destroyed during the war. Starlink has since been used by Ukrainian civilians, government and military. The satellite service has served for humanitarian purposes, as well as defense and attacks on Russian positions.