CHICAGO—If you spent any time at WiMAX World, you probably heard about Scartel, the Russian operator that launched a trial mobile WiMAX service on Sept. 2.
Scartel CEO Dennis Sverdlov joined Samsung Senior Vice President Hwan Chung on stage yesterday to discuss the network deployment. Scartel is using Samsung base stations exclusively and expects to have about 1,000 deployed in Moscow and St. Petersburg by the end of the year.
Scartel, which is offering service under the Yota brand, wants to offer more than mere Internet access, Sverdlov said. It has an R&D unit devoted to creating applications, and even its logo is designed to signify something different – it looks loosely like a human figure standing on its head.
Entertainment is an important part of the strategy, he said, noting that his own small daughter prefers the form factor of a smaller device to watch cartoons instead of a large TV.
Among the services Scartel is planning to offer are music and book downloads, as well as IPTV. It currently has about 2,000 friendly users testing service in the two cities. To address the backhaul issue, Scartel invested in its own backhaul network.
Sverdlov echoed what some analysts have said in the halls of the convention. “We really need more WiMAX deployment success stories,” he said. He also said devices should be affordable – with a target price of $30 for a mobile WiMAX modem, for example – and roaming needs to get worked out. Scartel operates in the same 2.5 GHz frequency that the United States and Japan use.
The operator already has invested about $200 million and expects that number will rise to $300 million. The company is privately funded by Telconet Capital Limited Partnership, and is not currently concerned about the state of financial markets as it relates to its planned buildout, Sverdlov said in an interview.
Sverdlov also showed off what the service can do on a touchscreen device to feature photo and video capabilities. The device manufacturer has not yet been announced, he said.