The mobile operators Osnova Telecom and Rusenergotelekom could be awarded Russia's Long Term Evolution (LTE) mobile network frequencies as early as Monday, despite protest from the top three mobile operators, Vedomosti business daily reported on Friday.
Russia's Defense Ministry currently holds the bulk of the country's frequencies.
The Defense Ministry earlier suggested awarding LTE frequencies covering the whole of Russia to Osnova Telecom, a company set up it and a private businessman, without a tender.
Russia's Big Three mobile operators - Mobile TeleSystems, MegaFon and VimpelCom - have protested the lack of transparency in the government's proposed allocation of the fourth generation networks.
Vladimir Yevtushenkov, head of AFK Sistema (owned by MTS ), and Mikhail Friedman, founder of Alfa Group (which owns VimpelCom), met with First Deputy Prime Minister Igor Shuvalov on Thursday to ask him not to give away the LTE frequencies without a tender, a private partner of Alfa Group told Vedomosti.
A "secret" meeting of the State Committee on Radio Frequencies (CSR), in which the allocation of the frequency ranges 2,3-2,4 GHz and 2,5-2,7 GHz to Osnova Telecom and Rusenergotelekom was to be discussed, was postponed last week after Communications Minister Igor Shchegolev received letters from government staff requesting information about why a public resource was being distributed behind closed doors, a source close to the CSR told Vedemosti.
A new meeting is scheduled for Friday, two people close to the CSR said. However, the meeting may not take place since many members of the CSR have gone on holiday so as not to have to take part in making the decision about the allocation of frequencies, one of the sources said.
President Dmitry Medvedev instructed Shchegolev to look into the distribution of frequencies after the heads of the Big Three sent a letter of complaint to him and Prime Minister Vladimir Putin. They said the construction of the federal network would take five years and cost $ 5.7 billion if Osnova Telecom and Rusenergotelekom were awarded the the LTE frequencies.
General Director of Osnova Telecom Nicholas Tamodin said that in fact it would only take two years and cost no more than $2 billion.
MOSCOW, August 20 (RIA Novosti)
