MOSCOW (WiMAX Day). Intel chairman Craig Barrett is in Russia this week to support Intel’s work with Comstar-UTS to launch a WiMAX network. At a press conference in Novosibirsk, Barrett said the network will be launched “in Moscow at the end of this year.”

The two companies announced their intention to deploy mobile WiMAX last year. Comstar is to build the network, market the services and find regional partners, while Intel will provide embedded WiMAX equipment, notably laptops.

In its Q108 results released today, Comstar said that its WiMAX network in Moscow will enable Comstar to “offer an unrivalled quintuple-play service offering” that will provide flexibility for its subscribers when they can have “WiMAX mobile Internet access from a laptop when on the move.”

Barrett said that he hopes the network will spread throughout all of Russian as quickly as possible, however a lack of spectrum in Russia may delay this. “There is a trick, which is linked with the allocation of frequencies, which hampers the process.”

Obtaining, and keeping, licenses for radio spectrum in Russia can be difficult, especially in the 2.5 GHz range.

It was reported recently that the company Summa Telecom lost its licenses to 2.5 GHz frequencies, due to technical discrepancies with the State Commission for Radio Frequencies (GKRCh). A new company, Scartel, also recently announced it had received licenses for 2.5 GHz frequencies from the GKRCh, and that it has acquired another twelve companies in Russia that already held such licenses.

Acquiring a license can be a more easy route to gaining spectrum. In 2006, Comstar acquired Cornet, one of the leading telecom operators in Armenia, which owned a license to 3.6 GHz spectrum. Comstar said it intends to be the largest mobile WiMAX operator in Armenia when that network is launched this year.

Comstar also this week announced the USD 8.5 million acquisition of alternative fixed-line operator group Interlink, which provides telephony, Internet access, cable TV and other communications services in the Ryazan region of Russia, south-east of Moscow. Amongst the assets of Interlink is a license to 2.5 GHz spectrum, which Comstar say will enable it to deploy WiMAX services in the Ryazan region.

Nevertheless, with 2.5 GHz spectrum being awarded on an ad-hoc basis, and doubt over the likelihood of 2.3 GHz frequencies being awarded soon, gaining spectrum licenses remain a top priority in Russia.

Barrett said he hopes to discuss the issue of frequency allocation with Russian government leaders at the International Economic Forum in St Petersburg this week. “If we can move on the liberalisation of frequencies for WiMAX, it will be very cool,” he said.