The telecom operator VimpelCom (Beeline brand) has signed a major contract with the domestic telecom equipment manufacturer Irteya for the first time. The company will supply the operator with two thousand base stations in 2026, as announced by Dmitry Lakontsev, CEO of Irteya, at a joint demo day of the Industrial Competence Center for Mobile and Fixed Communications in St. Petersburg.
According to Vedomosti, Irteya won the Beeline tender and became one of the operator's approved suppliers, along with Yadro. This is Irteya's first large-scale order from a third-party operator; previously, the manufacturer only supplied equipment to its shareholder, MTS, which owns 50% of the company (the other 50% is owned by the Advanced Technologies fund).
In 2024, MTS launched 200 Irteya LTE standard base stations in 37 regions of the country, from the Far East to the Far North. The operator intends to install another thousand stations by the end of 2025. For 2026–2027, Irteya plans to reach mass production of up to 15,000 base stations annually, which will significantly strengthen the position of the domestic telecom sector.
The company's portfolio already includes more than 20,000 ordered stations. New development areas include the implementation of MORAN and MOCN infrastructure sharing technologies. In the first case, operators share physical resources (towers, antennas, power), and in the second case, they also share the radio frequency spectrum. According to Dmitry Lakontsev, such solutions can speed up network deployment, improve communication quality, and reduce capital costs.
Experts consider the deal an important signal for the industry. Denis Kuskov, CEO of Telecom Daily, noted that the supply of over a thousand base stations is a significant volume for the Russian market. Leonid Konik, head of ComNews Group, emphasized that Beeline does not have an affiliated vendor, and the choice in favor of Irteya demonstrates growing confidence in Russian manufacturers.
Read also: