No speed limits for telecommunication services in Belarus after 2020

22/04/2016

According to BelTA communication services in Belarus will be available without any speed or volume limits after 2020.

Belarusian Information Technologies and Communications Minister Sergei Popkov made the statement as he met with Secretary General of the International Telecommunication Union (ITU) Houlin Zhao in Minsk on 19 April, BelTA has learned. A government program on developing the digital economy and information society till 2020 is in progress in Belarus. The Minister noted that virtually all the subscribers will be connected to fiber optic lines by that time. “Later on the fact will allow providing services at any speeds and in any volumes,” stressed Sergei Popkov. The meeting focused on the development of information and communication technologies in Belarus and the development of the information society. It was stressed that these projects are a high priority. At present mobile communication services are available in the entire country. All the mobile carriers provide 3G services to their clients. The 4G technology became available in Belarus in 2015. In the future Belarus intends to switch to the 5G technology to keep up with the world's most developed countries. Sergei Popkov pointed out that a serious competitive environment had been created in the mobile communication industry in Belarus. Prices for mobile communication services remain affordable thanks to that. According to ITU reports, Belarus is one of the world's top ten countries with the most rapidly developing information and communication technologies. The country has already fulfilled its obligations within the framework of the ITU's Geneva 2006 agreement by switching to digital television. Apart from that, Belarus has reached most of the goals outlined by the ITU strategy on developing telecommunications till 2020. In turn, Houlin Zhao noted that it was his first visit to Belarus as a secretary general of the International Telecommunication Union. He thanked the Belarusian side for the warm welcome and said he was pleased to visit the country and get familiar with its accomplishments in the sphere of information and communication technologies.

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