A1 Belarus, originally known as JV LLC Mobile digital communication, is the largest private telecom, ICT and content service provider operating in Belarus. The company began commercial operations on 16 April 1999, making it the first GSM carrier in the country. By the summer of 2000, all regional cities of Belarus had been connected to the network. In 2007, mobile communications became available to 100% of Belarus's urban population. Ownership of A1 Belarus transitioned to A1 Telekom Austria Group in November 2007, following the acquisition of 70% of shares. The remaining 30% of shares were acquired by the group in October 2010. The company underwent a rebranding campaign in May 2008, changing its name to Unitary enterprise velcom. It adopted the single brand A1 since 12 August 2019.
3G Network
Velcom began its 3G network rollout in March 2010 over B1 (2100 MHz). In December 2015 the company activated DC-HSPA+ technology over its entire 3G network increasing peak data rates to 42 Mbps. In February 2016 the operator switched on its long range B8 (900 MHz) 3G network allowing dramatic coverage extension and mobile data quality upgrade throughout the whole country.
An additional B8 (900 MHz) 3G carrier was added in June 2023.
3G Frequency Bands
| Network Frequency Band | Status |
|---|---|
|
Active
|
|
|
Active
|
3G Network Events
| Date | Event | Subtype |
|---|---|---|
|
|
Launch of 3G Network
|
Launch
|
4G Network
Unlike its competitors, Velcom initially elected not to connect to the 4G network being deployed by the country’s national infrastructure access provider Belarusian Cloud Technologies (beCloud). In September 2013 beCloud was granted frequencies to construct what was planned to be the country’s sole 4G LTE wireless network when the government awarded it LTE-capable spectrum, with the aim of constructing a single nationwide network to be offered on a wholesale basis to other Belarus operators in order to save infrastructure costs. The company conducted lengthy discussions with the Belarussian regulator (BelGIE) around obtaining appropriate licences to refarm its existing spectrum for LTE, unfortunately without result.
In December 2017 Velcom launched the first Belarusian IoT network using a standalone NB-IoT configuration in the 900 MHz band.
In March 2019 the company announced that it had agreed to use beCloud as its 4G infrastructure provider and that 4G services were now available to its subscribers over beCloud's managed network.
4G Frequency Bands
| Network Frequency Band | Max. Channel Bandwidth | Status | Known EARFCNs |
|---|---|---|---|
|
20
|
Active
|
1600,
1750
|
|
|
15
|
Active
|
3152,
3325
|
|
|
10
|
Active
|
6370
|
|
|
0.2
|
Active
|
4G Network Events
| Date | Event | Subtype |
|---|---|---|
|
|
Launch of 4G Network
|
Launch
|
5G Network
A1 launched a 5G test network in May 2020 which used the n78 (3500 MHz) band. The network was commercially rolled out around December 2022.
5G Frequency Bands
| Network Frequency Band | Status |
|---|---|
|
Active
|
5G Network Events
| Date | Event | Subtype |
|---|---|---|
|
|
Launch of 5G Network
|
Launch
|