The telecommunications group of companies DVL (Datagroup, Volya, lifecell) in 2025 offered subscribers new service options. Some of them were the result of combining into one package of services that were previously provided by each company separately. Namely, the group combined mobile communications, home Internet and TV in one offer from lifecell with a single check.
The telecommunications group of companies DVL (Datagroup, Volya, lifecell) in 2025 offered subscribers new service options. Some of them were the result of combining into one package of services that were previously provided by each company separately. Namely, the group combined mobile communications, home Internet and TV in one offer from lifecell with a single check.
Such a universal, comprehensive «three-in-one» service costs only 175 UAH/4 weeks, which is much more profitable than purchasing these services separately.
«From the first day of the merger, this was the number one priority. We were ready to launch Lifeset in mid-December, but given the specifics of the season, we decided to postpone it until January 6. More than 200 people worked on the product. We wanted the client to really have one check for three services. So that he wouldn’t have to think about who and how provides each of them and who he pays,» says Mykhailo Shelemba , CEO of the DVL group of companies, in an interview with Forbes.
At the same time, he notes that by reducing its own operating costs, the company is doing everything possible to ensure that price offers for customers remain attractive even despite the significant deterioration of the economic situation in Ukraine.
Yes, last year, only electricity, which is the largest part of operators' expenses, increased by half. But the new approach of companies is to include in the cost of tariffs only what is necessary for high-quality service provision at the best price for the subscriber. And for this, one must be more meticulous about one’s own expenses. Thanks to such savings, the revision of tariffs for subscribers in 2025 will have half the impact on them than today’s economic conditions require.
The group says that part of their business strategy is to provide subscribers with as many benefits as possible when using the company’s services. And one of the important priorities in this direction is ensuring communication during blackouts. Therefore, they continue to invest in increasing energy independence.
«The costs here for the entire time have exceeded 1 billion UAH. Now we are investing another 1 billion UAH — ensuring the operation of generators, installing batteries with a large number of charge-discharge cycles, additional equipment for them,» emphasizes Mykhailo Shelemba. Here are the specific figures: in the fall, lifecell purchased and is actively installing almost 33 thousand modern lithium batteries at base stations throughout Ukraine.
They will allow the equipment to operate during power outages for up to 10 hours or more. These are powerful batteries that have a large number of charge-discharge cycles, the ability to control them remotely, and other innovative advantages. Previously, the operator has already installed 15 thousand such batteries.
Shelemba said that approximately 25% of new subscribers who port their number to lifecell focused on the operator’s better performance during blackouts. He suggests that this, as well as the attractive promotional offer «sTOP-price», with which you can save on the tariff until the end of 2025, fixing its cost, allowed the company to significantly increase the number of MNP transitions from other operators in December and January.
The company now says that during the month and a half of the campaign, the number of subscribers who used number porting to lifecell reached about 170 thousand. While over the entire period of MNP’s existence, more than 600 thousand.
In addition, Mikhail Shelemba shared plans to expand coverage and modernize telecom networks. As he said, the group has a three-year plan for the mobile network and plans to invest more than $100 million in it annually. During this time, up to 1,000 new base stations will be installed in the country each year. Another approximately 1,000-1,500 will be modernized each year.
«That is, our network should increase to 13,500 base stations, and about 30-40% will be modernized,» adds the CEO of DVL. The fixed Internet network is also expected to change.
«Our task is to completely replace DOCSIS, then FTTB. We will spend about $25-30 million on this. The transition to PON will help reduce total electricity consumption by 3 MW for both us and consumers,» says Mykhailo Shelemba.
In 2024, the group will actively continue to build PON in Kyiv, Vinnytsia, Lviv, and Kharkiv, where it began large-scale construction last year, and Dnipro is also being added to this list.
«On average, about 25% of the network is covered by PON there. The task this year is to increase coverage to 50-60%», — emphasizes Shelemba. In 2026, he expects DVL to be able to bring optical coverage to 100%.
In addition, modernization is taking place in other cities of Ukraine — Ivano-Frankivsk, Lutsk, Truskavets, Cherkasy, Nizhyn, Sumy, Poltava, Kropyvnytskyi, Odessa, Mykolaiv and other cities, but there it is on a smaller scale.
