Russia’s leading mobile network operators MTS, VimpelCom (Beeline), Megafon along with Rostelekom, had signed a deal with Yota to provide mobile broadband services via its LTE network, earlier this year. In the first of its kind, competing service providers will come together to offer their consumers better services via a single network. The said network is expected to serve over 70 million people across 180 cities in Russia in 2014. The deal benefits the operators by saving costs required to build an individual network while at the same time providing users faster access to 4G services. Reportedly, Dennis Sverdlov of Yota says that this network sharing approach will not only help the entire telecom industry but also boost the Russian economy.

However sources claim that this deal may already be facing a few problems especially in relation to pricing. Skartel owned Yota has valued itself at $1 billion creating a cause for concern for the operators. As per the agreement, each operator has the right to buy 20% shares in Yota once the network is completed, in 2014. However, industry insiders claim that the valuation may cause the deal to end as it has been inviting objections by the network operators. Talk are said to be ongoing between Skartel and the network operators.