Russian state-owned telecoms group Svyazinvest has announced that it has chosen Long Term Evolution (LTE) technology for its upcoming 4G networks, Reuters reports, citing company CEO Yevgeny Yurchenko.

As reported by CommsUpdate on 15 March 2010, Svyazinvest subsidiaries Rostelecom and Sibirtelecom claimed 39 out of 40 regional 4G concessions through a series of tenders, acquiring wireless spectrum covering a third of Russia’s population in the process.

Under the conditions of the licences, Svyazinvest has 18 months to oversee the deployment and launch of 4G networks using Russian-made equipment in its licensed area. Yurchenko said: ‘We have made a decision to develop LTE because it is more promising than WiMAX. Globally, there are more producers of LTE equipment, and this means that network stations that support this standard are cheaper.’