Telecom operator VimpelCom (Beeline brand) has signed a major contract with domestic telecom equipment manufacturer Irtea for the first time. The company will supply the operator with two thousand base stations in 2026, according to Dmitry Lakontsev, CEO of Irtea, at a joint demo day of the Industrial Competence Center for Mobile and Fixed Communications in St. Petersburg.
According to Vedomosti, Irtea won the Beeline tender and became one of the operator's approved suppliers, along with Yadro. This is Irtea'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 Irtea 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, Irtea 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 introduction 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 radio frequency spectrum. According to Dmitry Lakontsev, such solutions allow accelerating network deployment, improving communication quality and reducing 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 Irtea indicates growing confidence in Russian manufacturers.
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