Kranj, Slovenia, 23 April, 2020 - Iskratel, a leading European ICT provider, together with PJSC Ukrtelecom and SID Bank, have signed an agreement to build a fibre-optic Internet network (GPON) to connect the rural areas of Ukraine.

The two-year network construction project – which has had a total investment of almost 200 million UAH - will connect more than 200 localities in 13 Ukrainian regions, and is the second project between Ukrtelecom and Iskratel.

The project includes the manufacturing of more than 2,000 km of fibre-optic cables, and the installation of modern certified telecommunication equipment, which is assembled in Slovenia at Iskratel’s production centres. Hundreds of thousands of people, who live in rural areas of Ukraine in the Vinnitska, Khmelnytska, Dnipropetrovska, Zaporizhska, Odeska, Poltavska, Mykolayivska, Sumska, Rivnenska, Khersonska, Kharkivska, Cherkaska, Luhanska regions will have the opportunity to use fibre-optic Internet at speeds of up to 1 Gbit/s, IPTV and other IP-based services.

Matjaž Aljančič, Director of the Broadband Business Unit, said: “Projects funded by investment banks are playing an increasingly important role in the development of broadband Internet in Europe. The project, financed by SID Bank, continues the long-term cooperation between Ukrtelecom and Iskratel in the development of optical access in Ukraine.”

Yuriy Kurmaz, CEO of Ukrtelecom, added: “Being the largest telco operator of Ukraine has provided a unique opportunity in attracting European financial and production partners to a project which aims to bridge the digital divide in Ukraine. At this stage, the building of the network is proceeding according to plan and work has begun in the Kharkiv region. The situation around the coronavirus pandemic has not affected the planned activities of the project.”