MOSCOW (WiMAX Day). According to a report in the Russian journal Vedomosti, telecommunications giant Vimpelcom has lost its licenses for 2.5 GHz spectrum in Russia. Citing a report in Comnews, which a Vimpelcom spokesman later confirmed, the Russian State Commission of Radio Frequencies (GKRCh) informed Vimpelcom this week that the spectrum licenses it received in 2006 had to be withdrawn due to an “incompatibility” of the 3.5 GHz frequencies requested, and those available for commercial and military use. Vimpelcom had originally requested spectrum licenses for the entire territory of Russia, covering 92 cities, in the 2.3 GHz and 2.5 GHz frequencies. However the GKRCh only agree to issue licenses in 30 small cities with populations under 100,000 people, and three cities with larger populations. At the time, a Vimpelcom executive Vice-President, Nikolai Pryanishnikov, said the award of the licenses was a “humiliation” for Vimpelcom.