Kyivstar, Ukraine's largest mobile operator, will work with US-based hardware and software firm Trimble to install almost 200 communications towers across Ukraine to offer high-precision satellite positioning services for use in engineering, mapping, shipping and other trades.
The companies will build 41 communications towers in the remainder of this year and 150 next year to create a new Continuously Operating Reference Station (CORS) network to provide Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS) correction services to offer positioning at the centimeter level, the firms said in separate press releases.
Kyivstar said it can be used for precision in vehicle navigation and tracking in logistics, precise steering of agricultural machinery as well as to ensure accuracy in construction, and other applications that could support companies in the reconstruction of Ukraine.
Trimble said its equipment, such as the Trimble Alloy reference receivers and Trimble Zephyr model 3 antennas, will be installed on Kyivstar communication towers in a "profit-sharing model."
Kyivstar, owned by Amsterdam-based digital operator Veon, said in June that it plans to spend $600 million over the next three years on infrastructure as it moves toward a “5G-focused reconstruction.” Kyivstar’s 4,000 employees serve 24.3 million mobile and 1.1 million fixed-line users.
