Ukraine’s leading mobile operator by subscribers, Kyivstar, claims that its 4G LTE mobile network now covers 70% of the country’s population, up from 50% reported at the start of the year. In a press release, Kyivstar, part of the VEON group – says that its latest LTE expansion work connected 116 additional settlements in Zakarpattia, Lviv, Mykolaiv, and Khmelnytsky regions, bringing its total to 6,817 settlements within the 4G footprint, 90% of which are located in areas classified as rural. Having launched the 4G network in April 2018, Kyivstar set a target to reach 75% population coverage by end-2019.

Vodafone Ukraine – a subsidiary of Russia’s Mobile TeleSystems (MTS) – reports on its website that its has expanded 4G LTE mobile network coverage across 70 settlements in 20 Ukrainian regions this autumn, reaching a further 220,000 people. The latest expansion brings the cellco’s LTE footprint to around 4,100 settlements in total, reaching over 62% of the population with a presence in all 25 regions (24 oblasts plus metropolitan Kiev).

TeleGeography notes that Vodafone Ukraine is trailing its two main rivals regarding  LTE population coverage: Ukraine’s largest operator in terms of subscribers Kyivstar reached a 70% 4G footprint this month, whilst smaller competitor Lifecell claimed a figure of around 67%. All three providers launched LTE-2600 services at the end of March 2018 and LTE-1800 networks at the start of July that year.