Mobile Internet in 2016 was enjoyed by over 16.8 million subscribers. Of these, 8.6 million are 3G users. They generated 73% of all data traffic of the network.
In 2016, more than 51 486 TB of data traffic was consumed within the Kyivstar network, which is twice as much as in 2015. The mobile Internet consumption was particularly active in Q4 2016, when the traffic grew by 154%, against the same period in 2015.
The most active in mobile Internet consumption were smartphone customers. In December 2016, they consumed data traffic eight times as much as other mobile Internet users.
The number of smartphones in the Kyivstar network reached 9.7 million at the end of 2016, which is 29% higher than in 2015. At the same time, the number of smartphones supporting 3G amounted to 6.1 million, and LTE support devices exceeded 2.4 million.
The mobile Internet consumption growth is associated with the rapid development of the national 3G coverage by Kyivstar, the best performance potential of the network, and attractive tariffs for smartphone users. Kyivstar is a pioneer among Ukrainian mobile operators to offer online tariffs with free access to social networks, messengers, and Wikipedia knowledge database. Some tariff plans offer options with unlimited traffic for audio and video streaming services.
It should be remarked that due to the 3G network capacities, customers have developed new preferences in consuming Internet services. For example, the traffic structure of 3G Internet users presents the essential share of audio and video streaming (32%) and social networks (32%). While for EDGE customers the most popular service is web browsing (42%).
Let us recall that in 2016, Kyivstar upgraded more than 7000 base stations and installed the most advanced equipment for 3G and 4G networks. In terms of 3G network specifications, Kyivstar is a quality leader among telecom operators, members of the international telecom group VEON (former VimpelCom ltd). The focus on quality is backed by the company’s investment in modernizing and building 3G network. So, in 2015 and 2016, the company’s capital costs amounted to UAH 9.4 billion.
