Russia’s Vimpelcom has decided to drop its plans to launch a DVB-H service in Moscow by selling its 75% stake in the company Dominant for an undisclosed fee.
According to Vedomosti, it plans instead to develop mobile TV services based on other technologies.
The 75% stake in Dominant has been sold back to Yevgeny Roitman, Vimpelcom having initially acquired it from the latter in 2007 for $10.5 million (€8.15 million).
Although Vimpelcom subsequently invested around $15 million and undertook DVB-H tests (in 2009), it encountered problems with the regulator and was unable to pursue its objectives of launching a service.
Roitman, who now wholly owns Dominant, is expected to use the frequencies held by the company (506-516 MHz) to supplement an LTE network he is already building through another company named Antares.
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