History
2020
- On February 3, lifecell opens free wireless Internet access for all passengers traveling by Gunsel Group Ukraine buses.
- Starting from February 12, access to the DIIA portal, which provides e-government services, is not charged for lifecell subscribers.
- In late February, lifecell and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine signed a Memorandum of Cooperation to inform subscribers about the project of voluntary registration of Ukrainian citizens traveling abroad.
- On March 5, three mobile operators start providing 4G communication services at Akademgorodok station of the Kyiv Metro. This is the first station of the Ukrainian capital’s Metro, where high-speed mobile Internet appeared.
- Starting from March 16, the operator provides free calls to the numbers of the Ministry of Health, Center of Public Health, Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine, Government Contact Center, and NHCU, as well as to the number of FRIEND website.
- Since March 23, lifecell subscribers can join “Let's Protect Ukraine from the COVID-19” charity project.
- On March 23, lifecell starts providing 20 GB of free Internet and 1500 minutes of free calls to Ukrainian fixed and mobile numbers to medical workers subscribed to lifecell services.
- On March 25, lifecell starts offering Emergency BiP Virtual Number service to Ukrainians abroad. This feature of the BiP messenger app allows subscribers abroad to receive and make calls from Ukrainian numbers without a physical SIM card. To do this, they need mobile or Wi-Fi Internet access, the BiP messenger app installed on their smartphone and an active Ukrainian virtual number.
- On April 1, during the quarantine period, lifecell introduces preferential conditions to access its services, which allow businesses to move online as easily as possible.
2019
- On January 8, lifecell becomes Ukraine’s first operator to start the deployment of NB-IoT operational network for smart devices developed by PJSC Kyivgas, which will allow to remotely record gas meter readings, monitor the stability of gas supply, and timely prevent gas leaks.
- On January 22, lifecell confirms the status of Google's official partner in Ukraine to sell Google G Suite for Business - a set of business productivity cloud services. The operator's clients get several benefits, including the execution of contracts under the Ukrainian legislation, data storage in reliable Google data centers, personal all-day-round expert support throughout Ukraine, and much more.
- Ahmet Akca, Chairman of the Board of Turkcell (lifecell’s parent company), participates in the second meeting of the National Investment Council, which was held on January 23 as a part of the World Economic Forum (WEF) in Davos.
- On March 5, lifecell launches the payment of electric public transport fare via SMS in Lviv.
- On 3 April, lifecell launches the payment of public transport fare via SMS in Ivano-Frankivsk.
- On April 16, lifecell and IoT Ukraine, the operator of the Internet of Things network, finish the construction of the Internet of Things network in three Ukrainian cities - Kyiv, Lviv, and Kropyvnytskyi. The construction took less than 9 months.
- On April 18, lifecell begins testing Massive MIMO 32x32 technology, which is the basis for 5G standard and allows to significantly increase LTE network capacity. Lviv became the testing site.
- On May 1, MNP (Mobile Number Portability) service is launched in Ukraine.
- On May 14, lifecell launches the payment of public transport fare via SMS in Zhytomyr.
- On May 23, Ericsson Ukraine and lifecell demonstrate 25.6 Gbps speed during the 5G test at the Swedish-Ukrainian Business Forum-2019 in Kyiv.
- On June 10, lifecell becomes Ukraine’s first mobile operator to offer its subscribers cashback for paying for mobile Internet packages in roaming.
- On June 20, lifecell and the Kharkiv City Council signed a Memorandum of Cooperation on the development of smart city projects.
- Starting from August 22, corporate subscribers of lifecell can use MobileID service. The service allows fast and protected remote identification, access to digital services and e-signature online.
- On 16 September, lifecell offers a new regional tariff for the residents of 32 Ukrainian cities. The cost of the 4-week service package, which is guaranteed to remain unchanged until the end of 2020, is UAH 20.
- On October 29, as a part of “RE: Think. Invest in Ukraine” forum in Mariupol, representatives of Kyivstar, Vodafone, lifecell and Intertelecom sign a memorandum to cover entire Ukraine with high-quality mobile communication and mobile Internet services.
- On November 6, lifecell the payment of public transport fare via SMS in Vinnytsia.
- On 8 November, digital operator lifecell announces the availability of eSIM supported by modern Apple and Google Pixel gadgets.
- On November 13, lifecell and the Dnipropetrovsk Regional State Administration signed a Memorandum of Cooperation for the digitalization of the region.
- On December 4, lifecell and the Cherkasy Regional State Administration sign a Declarative Agreement of Cooperation.
- On December 10, digital operator lifecell launches the BiP Virtual Number service, which allows a subscriber to buy a Ukrainian number anywhere in the world and use it at domestic tariffs of Ukraine.
- On December 28, lifecell launches the high-speed mobile Internet in the Dnipro City Metro.
- On December 28, lifecell signs a memorandum to improve and deepen cooperation with Ukrainian students.
2018
- lifecell becomes the official digital partner of the National Paralympic Committee and provides telecommunication services during the XII Winter Paralympic Games 2018 in Pyeongchang, the Republic of Korea.
- On January 31, lifecell becomes a participant of the 4G bidding and purchases 2*15 MHz in the 2600 MHz band to develop its 4G network. During the bidding, lifecell wins the first two lots and pays UAH 909.25 million to the state for them.
- On February 9, Ahmet Akca, Chairman of the Board of Turkcell, is appointed to the National Investment Council of Ukraine.
- On March 6, lifecell becomes a participant of the second bidding and purchases the first lot of 2*15 MHz in the 1800 MHz band for the development of 4.5G network. Following the open bidding, the company pays UAH 795 million to the state budget. Together with the amount paid for the right to use frequencies in the 2600 MHz band, the total amount paid reaches UAH 1.7 billion.
- After two biddings (frequencies in the 2600 and 1800 MHz bands), the operator receives the largest spectrum per subscriber to ensure high-quality and affordable 4G mobile communications throughout Ukraine.
- On March 30, lifecell becomes the first operator to launch 4.5G high-speed communications in many regional centers of Ukraine.
- On June 1, lifecell launches the Roaming Puzzle, a unique solution in the Ukrainian market that opens a new dimension of freedom for Ukrainian subscribers in roaming. From now on, each lifecell subscriber can independently choose the required number of services with consideration his or her communication needs abroad.
- On June 1, lifecell announces the SMS Charity service in Ukraine. The operator provides 11 short numbers to charitable organizations so that they can collect contributions via SMS. lifecell bears all the costs related to the short numbers and undertakes the processing of charitable SMS regardless of their quantity.
- On July 1, lifecell launches 4.5G using the 1800 MHz band in 232 communities of Ukraine at once.
- Starting from July 5, 2018, lifecell subscribers abroad can make calls using BiP Out free of roaming charges. BiP Out is a feature in the BiP app that allows subscribers, even outside Ukraine, to make outgoing calls to any mobile and fixed numbers of any Ukrainian and foreign operators.
- On July 24, digital operator lifecell and the Internet of Things operator IoT Ukraine start building the first segment of the National Internet of Things Network.
- On August 2, lifecell joins the SMS Charity initiative. The digital operator’s subscribers have an opportunity to help those in need in one click. All prepaid subscribers can participate in fundraising for charity projects by sending SMS messages to the special short numbers of charity organizations.
- On September 11, lifecell becomes an official partner of the KAZKA Band’s all-Ukrainian concert tour. The tour covered 15 cities in Ukraine.
- Digital operator lifecell becomes a partner of the 15th annual Yalta European Strategy meeting held in Kyiv on September 13–15, 2018. For the second time, lifecell has supported this event, which gathers over 600 participants from 28 countries in Kyiv.
- On September 21, lifecell announces the premium tariff Lifehack Platinum and adds even more services to the Lifehack tariff line.
- On September 27, the Lviv City Council and lifecell sign a Memorandum of Cooperation, which identifies three priority areas: smart city, safe city, and educational innovations.
- On September 28, lifecell becomes a partner of the Training and Information Computer Center of the Ukrainian Society of the Blind. The operator helped organize specialized courses on using touch-screen smartphones for visually impaired people. The training is designed to help people with visual impairments socialize and master new opportunities through modern technologies and digital services.
- On October 8, lifecell’s subsidiary, a financial company Paycell, receives a license from the NBU to transfer funds in local currency without the need to open accounts. Paycell receives the status of a payment infrastructure services operator.
- lifecell becomes Ukraine’s first mobile operator to announce the launch of an online identification system using BankID by PrivatBank for its subscribers who are also clients of PrivatBank and its partner banks.
- On December 7, digital operator lifecell, in partnership with the international outsourcing company Global Bilgi, opens a branch of its contact center in Nikopol, creating new employment opportunities for the citizens. The companies signed a Memorandum of Cooperation with the Nikopol City Council as part of the city development plan.
2017
- Understanding the needs of modern users in a time of rapid technological advances and globalization, we focus on digital solutions, Internet speed and quality.
- In February, Ookla, a global leader in mobile and broadband Internet testing, recognizes 3G+ lifecell network as the fastest one among Ukrainian operators. lifecell receives OOKLA SPEEDTEST AWARD.
- lifecell launches several innovative products, tariffs, and services, which have not existed in Ukraine before.
- lifecell offers its customers free traffic in its fizy music, lifecell Magazines, and lifeSport sports apps. And with the help of the lifebox cloud service, we provide our customers with an opportunity to store large volumes of data.
- Several innovative tariff plans and promos are launched. Below are just some of them.
- Self-Made tariff plan — from now on our subscribers can choose which services to use and their volume on their own.
- Lifehack — the volume of Internet traffic provided to subscribers is defined by the amount of GBs used in the previous month. Moreover, our subscribers receive +20 GB to their accounts irrespective of the amount of consumed traffic.
- Universal starter package is introduced in Ukraine. It’s not bundled with any tariff plan and allows our subscribers to choose any tariff plan out of the five most popular ones in the lifecell tariff line.
- Shake & Win special offer — to use this offer, a user needs to download My lifecell app and simply shake his/her phone. Immediately, free GBs of Internet traffic, voice minutes, or SMS are credited to his/her balance.
- lifecell launches ENS, a mass notification system. This tool is unique in the Ukrainian market and allows notifying a certain base of recipients with the help of voice messages, SMS, and e-mail. The tool allows lifecell corporate clients to simultaneously inform a large number of employees about an existing or potential emergency or high importance event.
- In September, the operator provides ENS to the Department of Cyber Police of The National Police of Ukraine for usage on a free and termless basis. Using this tool, the cyber police can immediately inform all the participants of the telecom industry about cyber threats and coordinate mutual actions during cyberattacks.
- In June, our Virtual Assistant service receives a gold award at Top Ranking Performers 2017 international competition. Digital operator lifecell becomes the first company in the history of Ukrainian business having gained recognition at such a high global level.
- In December, lifecell establishes an educational telecom-laboratory in Lviv Polytechnic National University. This is the second laboratory founded as a part of lifecell Universities project to allow students to explore the work of telecom-operator and get prepared for the future in one of the most promising industries.
- The company remains a leader in 3G coverage. lifecell 3G+ network is extended to 7 thousand communities of the country. Our strategic focus on the development of high-quality digital services resulted in the growth of data-subscriber number, the rise of customer satisfaction level due to Internet traffic usage increase and the fast growth of popularity of our digital products and services. In particular, throughout 2017, we see a rapid increase in the share of smartphones in our network to 68% (the market highest), 3G data-traffic increase by 88% vs 2016, and 3G subscriber number increase to 3,8 million.
2016
- Mobile operator life:) becomes lifecell. The new brand name is harmonious and consonant with Turkcell brand – a large international investor, owning 100% shares of the Ukrainian operator.
- The company implements a new concept and approach to forming a positive customer experience. We rebrand our service centers, stores and sales points all over Ukraine.
- The concept of the stores is changed. We create a «feel like home» friendly atmosphere to make our clients feel like home in our stores and get all the services without any extra efforts. We do not just provide a wide range of modern devices with free physical access and their trial. We offer the best models from the world of modern gadgets.
- In October, the company launches its online shop https://shop.lifecell.ua. Every visitor can learn in detail the features of the smartphones and mobile gadgets we sell and with just a few clicks chose the preferred one.
- In November, lifecell introduces Virtual Assistant – an innovative self-service for its subscribers that combines an IVR menu and a personal cabinet. It’s a unique opportunity for our clients to get all our customer support services through one channel (e.g. receive information about a mobile number and a tariff plan, subscribe to and unsubscribe from additional services, refilling an account, etc.).
- Virtual Assistant is an irreplaceable service for people with hearing disabilities who cannot use voice to consult call-center operators.
- A customer support channel is added to BiP app as well — it’s a web-chat with our customer support specialists. The service is useful for subscribers who travel abroad and for subscribers with hearing disabilities.
- As a part of its lifecell Universities project, the operator opens the first technical laboratory «lifecell lab» at the National Technical University of Ukraine «Igor Sikorsky Kyiv Polytechnic Institute».
- In November, after signing the Memorandum of Cooperation with Football Federation of Ukraine (FFU), lifecell becomes a Technological Sponsor of Ukrainian National Football
- In 2016 the operator continues the rapid roll-out of its 3G+ network and becomes a leader in the number of communities covered with high speed 3G+ mobile Internet. The share of smartphones in our network also continues growing and reaches 57% by late 2016 (the market’s highest share). The number of our 3G users reached 3.3 million.
2015
January
- In January, mobile operator life:) together with life:) information and consulting center launches a mobile version of its online chat for smartphone users. As the online chat is compatible with all OS platforms popular in Ukraine, communication between smartphone users and life:) call center becomes more comfortable.
February
- On February 24, mobile operator life:) announces it has won bidding for the 3G license. The company purposefully fought for the most promising lot 1, which is attractive for investment and allows using frequencies in the bands of 1920 to 1935 MHz and 2110 to 2125 MHz. life:) won the bidding as its bid of UAH 3.36 billion was the highest one.
March
- On March 12, mobile operator life:) publishes statistics on the number of 3G-enabled mobile gadgets within its network. As of late 2014, the penetration of 3G-enabled devices among life:) customers reached almost 40% to more than 4 million in absolute terms.
- On March 13, mobile operator life:) launches a special webpage dedicated to the introduction of 3G-technology in the life:) network. When the implementation of this large-scale project started, mobile operator life:) began informing its customers about the progress of the 3G-network deployment and benefits brought to the users by the next-generation communications.
April
- On April 8, life:) announces the opportunity for all users to be among the first to test 3G+ mobile Internet from life:). For this purpose, the operator invites users to visit life:) service center in Kyiv, where they could make their 3G speed test and feel the speed of loading web pages, social networking, and online videos.
May
- On May 19, mobile operator life:) becomes the first to officially put 3G communications into commercial operation. Lviv becomes the first city where users can connect to life:) 3G+ Internet.
June
- On June 5, mobile operator life:) officially announces the launch of a 3G+ network in Ukraine both commercially and the test mode. Since that day, the 3G+ network has become available in many cities of Ukraine.
- On June 19, Ookla recognizes life:) as an operator offering the highest download speeds in Kyiv and Lviv - the two major cities of Ukraine, where life:) commercial 3G+ network already operates. In June 2015, Ookla, the world leader in broadband Internet testing, named the operator a leader in the Global Net Index among telecommunication companies.
July
- On July 1, the Ukrainian Association of Direct Marketing (UDMA) recognizes life:) call center the best among Ukrainian mobile operators’ call centers in terms of information service quality. Operator life:) took first place by the level of service quality with a high score of 90-95%.
September
- life:) becomes a partner of a charity event dedicated to the 400th anniversary of the Kyiv Mohyla Academy, one of the oldest educational institutions in Eastern Europe.
- life:) launches its innovative life:) Roaming Service Center, an SMS platform for informing subscribers in roaming.
October
- Burak Ersoy is appointed life:) CEO.
- life:) launches its payment service oplata.life.ua.
- life:) becomes the general partner of Kyiv Smart City Forum 2015 – a major event for Kyiv IT-community, and signs a Memorandum between the representatives of government, business, and society.
November
- The penetration of 3G-enabled devices in life:) network grows to 43.8%, and the total penetration of smartphones reached 45%.
December
- life:) receives the Grand Prix and the Silver Award for its advertising campaign to promote 3G+ launch.
- life:) launches BiP, a next-generation app for video calls and messages.
- life:) pledges half a million UAH for the diagnosing of children's hearing deficiency as part of a charitable project to support SUVAG Center, a medical center in Ukraine focused on hearing and/or speech deficiency.
- life:) and NTUU KPI sign Memorandum of Cooperation, under which it is planned to create a modern telecommunications lab at the Institute of Telecommunication Systems NTUU KPI.
2014
- Starting February, the operator begins using the Cyrillic domain for its official sites: http://лайф.укр and http://бізнеслайф.укр.
- In March, life:) introduces a new service called Joint Account, which allows the simultaneous use of mobile phones and devices for Internet access
- In August 2014, the operator life:) expands its own socio-educational program "life:) School of Mobile Communication, which goes beyond the regional offices of the company and joins the City of Professions educational game project for children.
- In September, life:) completes the successful modernization of its billing system. As a result, the billing functionality and the system productivity increased taking into account the requirements of new standards of communications.
- From September, life:) starts a new stage of its Time of Good Deeds social initiative. Since the beginning of the fall season, life:) subscribers will have an opportunity to take raincoats in 75 branded centers and service points in 55 cities of Ukraine. The charity initiative may be useful in case of sudden rain, which often happens in autumn.
- In October, life:) introduces a new and unique line of prepaid tariff plans called All Inclusive for subscribers with different needs for the scope of mobile services.
- In October 2014, operator life:) launches a new phase of its charity program HELPING IS SO EASY designed to help disadvantaged children. In 2014, the company provided charitable assistance to orphans from orphanages evacuated from the ATO area because of the events in Eastern Ukraine.
- In December 2014, mobile operator life:) becomes Ukraine’s first to offer its subscribers a new service called Replacing the SIM Card by Post. Customers who cannot personally contact a life:) service center for any reason, receive a new SIM-card by post.
- In 2014, operator life:) receives a new mobile network code - 73, which allows the company to offer a great selection of personal numbers to new customers.
2013
- life:) launches a new free service called Menu Service Management.
- In February, life:) presents a unique Automatic Payment At Low Balance service in the Ukrainian market.
- In April, life:) becomes the official partner of mobile photo-exhibition called Charity Through The Prism of Lens.
- In June, life:) introduces All Inclusive unlimited tariff plan.
- In October, life:) together with Ericsson reports that they have achieved the highest speed of data transmission at the level of base stations controller - 132.8 Kbit/s.
- In October, operator life:) announces the completion of the first stage of a project aimed to expand the backbone network of life:) in Crimea: the full migration of the network to the DWDM-technology for increasing of network's power.
- In November, the operator launches a low balance control service.
- • In December, life:) introduces the youth project - lifeing.com.ua.
2012
- In 2012, life:) continues working on a vibrant communication platform called The World of Communication with the new slogan - Get More!. In a beautiful and innovative way, the new platform aims to show the inner world of mobile communication and the advantages for customers traveling through the world of communication with life:).
- life:) launches a new service Roaming in Russia.
- life:) equips Customer Care Centers with the points of remote access to the call center and with the corners of children's creativity.
- life:) launches the Pay Mobile service together with Portmone to replenish life:) accounts with Visa or MasterCard via phone.
- In June, operator life:) supports the project of the Kyiv City State Administration - Kyiv Free Wi-Fi to ensure permanent free access to Wi-Fi networks in public places.
- life:) creates its official group on Facebook.
- life:) becomes the first operator in the Ukrainian market to introduce double-standard SIM-cards (SIM and microSIM) in all its starter packages.
- life:) presents a catalog of applications for smartphones - life:) Apps.
- In November, the number of participants in life:) groups in VKontakte and Facebook reaches 100,000 followers.
2011
- In January, life:) launches a MeloRing web-portal, which allows customers to order and listen to music, as well as manage it.
- In February, the operator life:) opens its official group in VKontakte social network.
- In April, life:) announces the launch of the tariff "Tourist life:)".
- life:) becomes the first among mobile operators in Ukraine to provide free access to the services of the ICQ messenger (Free Access service).
- In June, life:) launches Internet Roaming with a 100-times reduction of the cost of 1 MB in roaming compared to the standard rates.
- In July, life:) expands the list of its services with Online Mobile Games service represented by a portal of MMORPG games.
- In August, Calls Abroad tariff appears in the tariff line of the operator.
- life:) launches New Unlimited Internet.
- A starter package called Easy Roaming is represented to users.
- In October, life:) launches a new communications platform – the World of Communication.
- In December, life:) launches life:) Online – a tariff for users of laptops and tablets.
2010
- In January, life:) launches a new service "life:) Loan, which allows using mobile communications even if the account balance is zero.
- life:) launches a new tariff for smartphone users – life:) Communicator.
- EDGE coverage in the life:) network reaches 100%.
- In March, the operator offers Call Detail service. It provides the contract life:) subscribers with a digital copy of the real-time detailed report on mobile expenses on an ongoing basis.
- In June, Messaging Portal to create and send SMS and MMS messages via the Internet is launched.
- life:) becomes Ukraine’s first operator to launch free notifications, such as SMS about updates by Vkontakte users.
- life:) subscribers get free access to Facebook and VKontakte social networks from their mobile phones.
- In August, life:) launches an alternative customer service channel – an online chat with call-center operators.
- life:) is the first among CIS mobile operators to offer its subscribers - users of Facebook and Vkontakte – an opportunity to manage updates on their pages directly from their mobile phones.
- life:) becomes Ukraine’s first mobile operator to launch SMS-integration with Twitter.
2009
- life:) begins cooperating with Huawei, a global equipment producer, to develop the operator’s network.
- life:) and Tellabs extend their cooperation to provide next-generation network equipment (Synchronous Digital Hierarchy (SDH)).
- life:) announces the launch of Jump into life:) student program, the members of which do an internship at life:) and get the chance to start a career in the company.
- The operator releases My life:) mobile app mobile accounts self-management from subscribers’ smartphones.
- life:) launches blog.life.com.ua corporate blog.
2008
- life:) opens a special room to support victims of a natural disaster in the Western regions of Ukraine.
- Funds are contributed to the mobile accounts of subscribers who are in roaming in China during the major earthquake so that they can keep in touch with their families in Ukraine or get immediate help.
2007
- life:) tests 3G technology in its network.
- life:) begins cooperation with the leading software developer Microsoft to provide a unique Virtual Office service on the market.
- In November 2007, business life:), a brand for life:) corporate subscribers, launches an innovative Mobile Business E-mail" (Push E-mail) service, a unique offering in the Ukrainian market.
- life:) becomes Ukraine’s first operator to provide Push To Talk service.
- On August 27, life:) officially joins the Global Compact initiative.
2006
- Long-term investments of USD 540 million are attracted. It is the largest investment that has ever been made into a private company.
- In May 2006, life:) becomes Ukraine’s first operator to introduce an innovative data transmission technology EDGE +/GPRS+.
- In August 2006, life:) becomes Ukraine’s first operator to launch a zero tariff called Free life:) in its network.
2005
- The first call in life:) mobile network is made.
- In March 2005, life:) becomes Ukraine’s first operator to offer high-speed data transmission services based on EDGE technology.
- In July 2005, life:) offers universal access to all its services – lifebox (a package of interactive services) for the first time in Ukraine.
- A unique Mobile TV service, which allows subscribers to watch streaming video on a mobile device, is launched.
- In February 2005, life:) becomes Ukraine’s first mobile operator to launch a new service MeloRing (Ring Back Tone) – the melody instead of beeps.
- To celebrate its first million subscribers, life:) brings a well-known star, Bryan Adams, to Kyiv.