Telecommunications
Telecommunication, often used in its plural form or abbreviated as telecom, is the transmission of information over a distance using electronic means, typically through cables, radio waves, or other communication technologies. These means of ...
is one of the most modern, diverse and fast-growing sectors in the
economy
An economy is an area of the Production (economics), production, Distribution (economics), distribution and trade, as well as Consumption (economics), consumption of Goods (economics), goods and Service (economics), services. In general, it is ...
of
Ukraine
Ukraine is a country in Eastern Europe. It is the List of European countries by area, second-largest country in Europe after Russia, which Russia–Ukraine border, borders it to the east and northeast. Ukraine also borders Belarus to the nor ...
. Unlike the country's dominating
export
An export in international trade is a good produced in one country that is sold into another country or a service provided in one country for a national or resident of another country. The seller of such goods or the service provider is a ...
industries, telecommunications, as well as the related
Internet sector, remain largely unaffected by the
global economic crisis, ranking high in
Europe
Europe is a continent located entirely in the Northern Hemisphere and mostly in the Eastern Hemisphere. It is bordered by the Arctic Ocean to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the west, the Mediterranean Sea to the south, and Asia to the east ...
an and global rankings.
The industry also leads in
demonopolization of Ukraine's economy as
Ukrtelekom (once the country's sole telephone provider) was successfully
privatized
Privatization (rendered privatisation in British English) can mean several different things, most commonly referring to moving something from the public sector into the private sector. It is also sometimes used as a synonym for deregulation w ...
, and is now losing its
retail
Retail is the sale of goods and services to consumers, in contrast to wholesaling, which is the sale to business or institutional customers. A retailer purchases goods in large quantities from manufacturers, directly or through a wholes ...
market share
Market share is the percentage of the total revenue or sales in a Market (economics), market that a company's business makes up. For example, if there are 50,000 units sold per year in a given industry, a company whose sales were 5,000 of those ...
to independent, foreign-invested private providers.
The entire population of Ukraine now has
telephone
A telephone, colloquially referred to as a phone, is a telecommunications device that enables two or more users to conduct a conversation when they are too far apart to be easily heard directly. A telephone converts sound, typically and most ...
and/or
mobile phone
A mobile phone or cell phone is a portable telephone that allows users to make and receive calls over a radio frequency link while moving within a designated telephone service area, unlike fixed-location phones ( landline phones). This rad ...
connection;
Internet access
Internet access is a facility or service that provides connectivity for a computer, a computer network, or other network device to the Internet, and for individuals or organizations to access or use applications such as email and the World Wide ...
is universally available in cities and main transport corridors, expanding into smaller settlements.
Ukraine's telecommunication development plan emphasizes further improving domestic trunk lines, international connections, and the mobile cellular system.
During the
Russian invasion of Ukraine
On 24 February 2022, , starting the largest and deadliest war in Europe since World War II, in a major escalation of the Russo-Ukrainian War, conflict between the two countries which began in 2014. The fighting has caused hundreds of thou ...
, telecommunications
were provided by the Starlink satellite service.
[Elon Musk says SpaceX's Starlink satellites active over Ukraine after request from embattled country's leaders](_blank)
, The Independent
''The Independent'' is a British online newspaper. It was established in 1986 as a national morning printed paper. Nicknamed the ''Indy'', it began as a broadsheet and changed to tabloid format in 2003. The last printed edition was publis ...
(26 February 2022)
Internet audience
International data network
Two new domestic trunk lines are a part of the fibre-optic Trans-Asia-Europe (TAE) system and three Ukrainian links have been installed in the fibre-optic Trans-European Lines (TEL) project that connects 18 countries; additional international service is provided by the Italy-Turkey-Ukraine-Russia (
ITUR) fibre-optic submarine cable and by earth stations in the
Intelsat
Intelsat S.A. (formerly Intel-Sat, Intelsat) is a Luxembourgish-American multinational satellite services provider with corporate headquarters in Luxembourg and administrative headquarters in Tysons, Virginia, United States. Originally formed ...
,
Inmarsat
Inmarsat is a British communications satellite, satellite telecommunications company, offering global mobile services. It provides telephone and data services to users worldwide, via portable or mobile terminals which communicate with groun ...
, and
Intersputnik satellite systems.
Fixed telephone network
Telephone
A telephone, colloquially referred to as a phone, is a telecommunications device that enables two or more users to conduct a conversation when they are too far apart to be easily heard directly. A telephone converts sound, typically and most ...
s - land lines in use: 12.681 million (2011)
Upon gaining independence from the USSR in 1991, Ukraine inherited an analogue PSTN telephone system that was antiquated, inefficient, and in many places in disrepair; meanwhile demand overwhelmed the supply with more than 3.5 million households applications for telephone lines pending. Telephone density has since risen and the domestic trunk system is being improved; about one-third of Ukraine's networks are digital, and the majority of regional centres now have digital switching stations. Improvements in local networks and local exchanges continue to lag.
Several independent fixed network providers established themselves in the country's retail market, although Ukrtelecom still dominates it.
Mobile phone networks
Market penetration
The mobile cellular telephone system's expansion has slowed, largely due to the saturation of the market, which has reached 125 mobile phones per 100 people.
Telephones - mobile cellular: 55.578 million (2011)
Mobile phone networks
Mobile phone manufacturers
The following companies in Ukraine are manufacturing mobile phones:
* Borton
* Impression Electronics
Radio broadcast stations
300 (2007)
Ukrainian Amateur Radio League
Internet in Ukraine
*country code -
.ua
*Internet hosts: 2.173 million (2012)
*Internet users: 41,8 million (2013)
History
Russian Invasion of Ukraine
Ukraine's military and government rapidly became dependent on
SpaceX
Space Exploration Technologies Corp., commonly referred to as SpaceX, is an America, American space technology company headquartered at the SpaceX Starbase, Starbase development site in Starbase, Texas. Since its founding in 2002, the compa ...
's
Starlink satellite services during
Russian's invasion of Ukraine in 2022, as Russia attacked key infrastructures including telecommunication ones, and Ukraine was experiencing significant problems with Internet access.
Satellite internet from SpaceX had key telecommunications role such as in the
Siege of Azovstal (April 15–May 20), which helped Ukrainian defenders to resist Russian troops in Mariupol.
While military and government use of Starlink has been the most important aspect of opening Ukraine to low-altitude satellite internet services in early 2022, civilians are also heavily using the technology "to keep in touch with the outside world and tell loved ones that they are alive." During the war, Ukrainians can use Starlink terminals without paying the usual monthly subscription fee.
To pay for the cost of Starlink in Ukraine, SpaceX donated for an estimate of over $100 million,
while an unknown amount was secured by several European countries and the US government.
In June 2023,
The Pentagon
The Pentagon is the headquarters building of the United States Department of Defense, in Arlington County, Virginia, across the Potomac River from Washington, D.C. The building was constructed on an accelerated schedule during World War II. As ...
communicated that the
Department of Defense
The United States Department of Defense (DoD, USDOD, or DOD) is an executive department of the U.S. federal government charged with coordinating and supervising the six U.S. armed services: the Army, Navy, Marines, Air Force, Space Force, ...
signed a contract with SpaceX's Starlink to buy those satellite services for Ukraine.
The use of Starlink in
Russian-occupied territories in Ukraine was however restricted by SpaceX, according to Ukrainian officials.
Telecommunications-related government bodies
*
Ministry of Infrastructure of UkraineOfficial website)
*
State Special Communications Service of Ukraine
The State Special Communications Service of Ukraine (Also known as the SSSCIP, ), also known as ''Derzhspetszv'yazku'' (), is a specialized executive authority of which the key functions include the provision of secure government communications, ...
Official website)
*National Commission for the State Regulation of Communications and Informatization of Ukraine
Official website
See also
*
Internet in Ukraine
*
Mobile phone industry in Ukraine
Notes
References
External links
Industry-specific media
*
Watcher:' - Ukrainian Internet business and marketing
online newspaper
An online newspaper (or electronic news or electronic news publication) is the electronic publishing, online version of a newspaper, either as a stand-alone publication or as the online version of a printed periodical literature, periodical.
Goin ...
*
ProIT' - Ukrainian IT industry online newspaper
*
AIN' - Ukrainian IT industry online newspaper
Other
CIA World Factbook
{{Europe topic, Telecommunications in
Internet in Ukraine
Information technology in Ukraine