OREANDA-NEWS. July 26, 2012. MegaFon became the first major mobile carrier to launch 4G services in the Far East. Vladivostok is located 9000 km from Moscow and is one of the first cities to be provided with advanced mobile services. MegaFon’s Far East project will reinforce MegaFon’s leadership position on Russia’s mobile data market.

The network launch of the Vladivostok 4G base stations provide 80% coverage in residential areas of Vladivostok, Artem, in the international airport and on Russky island, where the campuses of Far East Federal University are located. The participants of the 2012 APEC Summit scheduled to take place in September in Vladivostok and citizens of Primorye will have the opportunity to enjoy the benefits of 4G mobile services from MegaFon. By the end of 2012, MegaFon plans to substantially increase its 4G network.

“It is important that Far East residents are one of the first to have 4G access. High speed mobile Internet – is a useful service for subscribers and an effective tool for the economic development of Primorye. As a technology leader, MegaFon is consistently developing new mobile services not only in Moscow, but in regions located thousands kilometers away in an effort to eliminate digital gaps between different regions of Russia. We view this as one of our key contributions to the innovative development of Russia”, — commented Mikhail Dubin, MegaFon’s Deputy CEO.

The main consumer advantage of 4G networks is high speed data transfer and fast response time of mobile devices with minimal delays. The average speed of mobile Internet in existing 4G networks in Russia exceeds 20 Mbps, which is seven times higher than average 3G speeds. Fast mobile Internet saves time and money, and provides users with unlimited opportunities to work with information and achieve high professional results.

Today, 4G services can be accessed via universal modems from MegaFon and via tablets that support new technology. They can be purchased in the Internet store of the operator. MegaFon provides its subscribers with a "seamless" transition between 4G/3G/2G networks, so even if the owner of a 4G device is out of the coverage of new network, he will always remain connected to the mobile Internet.

Vladivostok is the sixth city after Moscow, Samara, Novosibirsk, Krasnodar and Sochi, where MegaFon provides 4G servicers to its users. By the end of the year MegaFon plans to launch 4G in St. Petersburg, and a number of cities in the Leningrad region, Ufa and other parts of Russia. At that stage, next-generation networks will cover the territory inhabited by 27% of the Russian population.

MegaFon is a leader in Russian mobile Internet, and its network generates more than half of the data traffic of major Russian mobile carriers.