Despite her increased capabilities, Iota is not perfect. Especially when it comes to coverage areas and signal transmission and reception levels. Of course, the manufacturers of this network produce maps indicating coverage points, however, the yota base stations depicted on them are displayed without such additional details as the terrain and the number of towers. This is due to the fact that signals are constantly measured on Iota, due to which the location of coverage and, accordingly, the coverage area changes.

And since the company is only at the stage of its development and still has a small resource to cover the entire country, each resident especially needs to study the map - at least to find out whether his area is in the coverage area of ​​the towers from Iota.

Where are the towers mainly located?

As noted above, the mobile operator Yota is a fairly young representative of high-speed Internet. That is why the location of yota base stations is quite rare. Thus, a greater number of them are observed in the center of Russia, or more precisely, in its southern part. They are also located in the northern capital of the country, Murmansk and some northern cities. In the south, towers are located mainly in Krasnodar and Rostov-on-Don.

When viewing the eastern part, one interesting feature can be noticed: stations are located only in large cities and regional centers. In other words, when living in small areas or villages, there is no chance of excellent and reliable 4G signal reception. Therefore, Iota will not be available to you.

When studying the map, many probably noticed two different colors: blue and cyan. What do they mean? Those towers that are marked in blue are sources of reliable signal reception. And those that are blue - the reception is not configured or is rather weak. Thus, to further determine whether your area is included in the coverage area, you can look on the map for the presence of a tower and the color with which it is marked.

Further development of Yota

The company does not stand still, successfully developing and creating new towers. That is why yota base stations on the map cover an increasingly large territory of Russia. And, at the same time, they are beginning to appear outside the country. In the future, Yota executives guarantee the most successful development of 4G technology. To achieve this goal, they plan to carry out the following work:

  1. Multiply the number of towers in eastern Russia, carefully checking signal reception.
  2. Continue to develop the northwestern side to maximize the efficiency of the station towers.
  3. Construction of additional bases, the main purpose of which is to reduce the load on the main towers.

Subject to the implementation of the stated actions, in a couple of years the Yota operator will become the most accessible network throughout Russia.

Reasons for a bad signal from Iota

If your Iota modem does not pick up the signal well, but the tower is absolutely located in your area or close to it, then you can try the following options:

  1. Move the modem closer to the window opening. It is recommended that you use a USB extension cable when performing this step. Its choice must meet the following requirements: be no more than 5 meters long, and also be fully compatible with the modem. Only in this case will the modem be able to more confidently pick up the signal.
  2. Move equipment to places where there is no brick or reinforced concrete. These materials have poor conductivity and can completely drown out the signal from the tower.
  3. Use the Yota 4G antenna. The essence of the operation of different types of antennas is the different search and reception of the signal. Thus, the panel variety helps to search and amplify the tuned signal. Parabolic, in turn, allows you to detect the location of yota base stations and tune in to work with one of them. It is recommended to use antennas with MIMO technology - they catch the signal in two planes at once.

Thus, provided that there is a tower in your area or close to it, you will be able to catch its signal in any case using such simple actions.

Introduction

One of the first questions that arises when you are connecting to the mobile Internet is the question of where to locate the base station of your chosen operator so that you can point your antenna towards it. It is advisable to find out the exact coordinates of the tower and the terrain before it in order to understand whether it makes sense to use the tower to receive the signal. Services and various Android applications do not provide exact coordinates of the BS, because based on measurements and their mathematical processing. The error can reach several kilometers.

Often, tower coordinates can be determined by studying operator coverage maps, terrain, Google and Yandex maps, as well as the opportunities they provide to view photographs and panoramas of the area being studied. It must be said that the BS cannot always be found on the map. There can be many reasons for this - the maps are outdated, the BS is located on the roof of the building and is simply not visible on the map, the tower is small, etc.

BS parameters are unknown. Kostroma region

Given: coordinates 57.564243, 41.08345, Kuzminka village in the Kostroma region. The task is to determine the exact coordinates of the BS to which you can connect to receive 3 G-signal.

We will consider the search for BS step by step.

Step 1. Analysis of coverage maps.

Let's use a well-known servicehttps://yota-faq.ru/yota-zone-map/ , which presents the coverage areas of four operators, except Beeline. I will note here that the Beeline coverage presented on their website is almost impossible to use - as a rule, it shows continuous coverage that does not take into account the terrain.

The coverage areas of Megafon and MTS look the most interesting from a connection point of view. You can see this for yourself by opening the service, inserting coordinates into the search bar and switching operators.

Megafon coverage area:

MTS coverage area:

From the analysis of Megafon's coverage area, we see that 3G BS are most likely located in the directions Krasnoye, Sukhonogovo, Lapino (at this scale the Lapino map is not visible, this is the southwest, approximately where the P-600 mark is).

The MTS coverage area is more interesting. Here we also consider the direction to Sukhonogovo and Krasnoe. But Red is a more interesting option, because... there is 4G coverage there. The distance to Krasny is about 10 km, if MTS distributes 4G at a frequency of 1800 MHz, then there is every chance of establishing communication with one of the MTS BSs located in this locality.

Step 2: Study the terrain.

The terrain up to Krasny is difficult, but quite passable. To assess the terrain, we will use the service https://airlink.ubnt.com. If this is your first time on this site, you will first need to go through a free registration procedure. Having opened the service, scroll the slider down to the end and enter the initial data in the lower right corner, as shown in the following figure.

I usually first enter the same coordinates in both windows, and then start moving the purple mark to the points of interest to me, where the BS could presumably be located. In this case, the top right corner of the screen displays the terrain, the line of sight and the approximate size of the Fresnel zone.

For our coordinates we have:

Checking the terrain in other “suspicious” directions showed that the terrain there is much worse. Thus, we decided on the direction and at the same time chose the operator - MTS.

Step 3. Clarifying our choice using the “Communication Quality” service

The service opens at the following address https://geo.minsvyaz.ru. In the search line, set the name of the village Kuzminka, switch the view from 4 windows to single-window mode, scale the map to a convenient size and get for the MTS operator:

We see that our choice is correct, because according to the measurement database of users of this service, Krasnoye actually has good 4G coverage from MTS.

Let's zoom in on this map and see that the most likely location of the tower (or towers) is Sovetskaya and Okruzhnaya streets.

Step 4. Study the area using Google and Yandex maps.

These maps have a useful tool for studying the area - panoramas and photographs of the area. Google maps have much more panoramas of various areas than Yandex, so you have to use Google more often when looking at panoramas. On the other hand, Yandex has more photos taken in different places, in addition, Yandex maps for Russia are usually more relevant. In this regard, you have to use both services. Google maps and services are used here.

So, we found out that we need to consider two streets in Krasnoye in search of BS. Launch Google maps, enter the approximate coordinates of the street. Sovetskaya (or street name) and we get:

Here the street view mode is turned on, the street we need is highlighted in blue on the map. You can get a panorama of the street by clicking the mouse anywhere on the blue line. Moving in this way along the street to the north, at the post office building we find the first BS:

And finally, not far from the intersection of Sovetskaya and Okruzhnaya streets, a third tower is discovered, the highest of those found:

We return to the map and find the shadow of this tower in the place where the photo points:

We mark this place on the map with the mouse and get the exact coordinates of the BS:

Let us summarize some of the results of our research. Using information obtained from coverage area analysis, user measurements of signal strength in the area of ​​interest, and study of the area through photographs and panoramas, we were able to find three base stations and their exact coordinates in a city we had never been to. The question of which operator owns the found BS remains open, because the answer to this requires additional research. The easiest way is to drive along the route and measure the BS parameters using some Android application that displays MNC, MCC and signal strength. Some of these applications are presented.

The parameters of the BS are known. Suburb of Penza

As is known, a number of Android applications, as well as a HiLink modem interface and an MDMA program, can provide BS parameters, with the help of which well-known services and applications can provide approximate BS coordinates, which makes it easier to find specific BS coordinates on maps. Reviews of some of these tools are given in the "" section on the Antex website.

Let's look at a specific example from the forum, the example is based on the topic. User coordinates

Today we will look at an issue that concerns almost everyone who has had problems with connection or network - the Yota coverage map and the catchment areas of 2, 3 and 4G (LTE) networks in Russia.

The Yota operator burst into the mobile market, filled with fairly strong competitors, relatively recently, but has already managed to establish its network as very stable and worthy of attention, and has also taken pride of place among users, providing truly unlimited Internet and good signal reception, regardless of the locality.

The operator offers subscribers dozens of favorable tariffs for smartphones, tablets and modems, providing them with special SIM cards that allow them to get speeds no worse than those of home providers - up to 50-70 megabits per second!

But before agreeing to one of the profitable offers from Yota, you should still familiarize yourself in detail with the coverage map and signal zones in your locality, simultaneously comparing it with the zones of other operators and the signal level of their networks.

Coverage map Yota, MTS. MegaFon and Tele2 in the Russian Federation

Below you can see an interactive map of network coverage areas.

To see which operator has the best signal in your city or region, select it in the top panel of the map.

If the map is not displayed, and instead you see an empty window, there may be several reasons for this:

  • The page has not yet loaded 100%. Wait a while or just try updating it.
  • The map scale is too large or, conversely, too small. Try zooming in on the map using the mouse wheel.
  • Your locality does not have an operator network.
  • If you are from Ukraine, then your Yandex.Maps resource is blocked

Loading a coverage map of Yota, MTS, Megafon, Tele2 operators

Color indicators found on the map:

Iota: 4G network, 3G network, possible 4G coverage, 2G connection

MTS: 4G internet, 3G internet

Megaphone: 4G network, 3G network

Tele 2: 3G internet, 4G internet

Based on the data presented on the map, we can conclude that the best signal is received by residents of large cities of the Russian Federation, such as Moscow, St. Petersburg, Khabarovsk, Ufa, Kazan and many others. The rest have a weaker signal, but this does not mean that the operator has given up on high-speed Internet. As before, the Yota team continues to install their towers, increasing coverage every year!

But there are also several features that are worth considering:

  • First. The map did not take into account the relief and general specifics of the area. It was made on the principle of direct visibility of which path the signal will travel from a cell tower to a specific locality.
  • Second. Even where excellent 4G network reception speeds are noted, they may change from time to time. This is due to the fact that the tower is overloaded with the number of requests or the signal is simply hampered by urban development, and in particular by its density.
  • Third. The distance from the tower also greatly affects the network connection and communication in general. Even when it is located in direct line of sight, problems with the Internet can sometimes arise due to the banal distance.

The best option for checking network speed and reception is to do it yourself, regardless of the data seen on the interactive map. The operator is happy to offer this opportunity in the form of a test drive for a period of 7 days when you purchase a Yota modem. If, while using it, you observe an extremely sad situation with the signal strength and other indicators, then you can return everything to the nearest Yota office, get your money back and find an alternative option.

Now Yota's coverage area - voice calls and 3G communications - stretches across almost the entire Russian territory. 4G data transmission is available in fewer regions. By looking at the map on the official website, you can get an idea of ​​signal availability in Russia in 2016.

What is known about the new operator

Yota (Skartel) is a subsidiary of Megafon. At first, the operator provided communications in regions such as Moscow and the Moscow region, St. Petersburg and the Leningrad region. Gradually, Iota’s coverage area affected other areas in Russia. It continues to expand in 2016.

Megafon base stations are used to transmit the signal. However, the quality of communications across Russia differs markedly in different regions (according to observations, the Moscow region lags behind the Leningrad region in this regard).

You can purchase a Yota SIM card in one of the following ways:

  • at the operator's office; modems, routers and other subscriber equipment are also presented there;
  • in one of the partner offices – these are the Svyaznoy and Euroset networks;
  • order on the official website - indicate your tariff plan preferences and delivery address;
  • use the mobile application from Yota.

Important: When ordering a SIM card via the Internet or mobile application, it will be delivered by courier to the specified address or point of issue.

Is it advisable to purchase a Yota SIM card for your region?

To make sure that Iota communications are available in the region, you need to go to the company’s website. A special section presents a map of the Iota coverage area for 2016. There are four tabs visible at the top of the page. By choosing one of them, you can get information about specific regions in Russia.

  1. Iota coverage area – voice calls and 2G Internet.
  2. 3G coverage area where the subscriber can use high-speed Internet.
  3. 4G coverage area Iota.
  4. An area where communication is possible but not guaranteed.

If you need information on only one of these parameters, check the box next to it. The Iota coverage area map will appear in the appropriate color.

You can check the boxes next to all tabs. Then all information about Russia will be visible at once.

Important: Calls from the Yota number are also possible in those cities where there is no company office.

How to navigate using the map on the official website

The Iota coverage area map, where voice calls and 2G Internet are available, covers almost the entire country. If you check the box next to this tab, it will turn yellow. In 2016, you can receive calls and make calls from a Yota SIM card in regions such as the Moscow region, Kaluga region, Krasnodar region, Rostov region and many others.

If you check the box next to the 3G coverage area heading, the highlighted area will become smaller. It will be highlighted in lilac. 3G coverage is available in most cities, for example, Moscow, Novosibirsk, Krasnodar, Sochi.

Iota's 4G coverage area covers mainly populated cities, with the Moscow region partially highlighted. It is marked in blue on the page.

The Iota coverage area map also has light blue areas. This color indicates areas where reception is possible. But communication may not be available here.

The operator does not warn customers in advance where Iota's 4G coverage area is expanding. There is no news about where the sale of SIM cards is planned to start. You can track on social networks how the Iota coverage area map is expanding.

How to connect to the network using an antenna

An external antenna may be required in areas with poor reception. It also applies if the Iota coverage area does not reach this region. There are a number of aspects worth considering here.

The height at which the antenna is mounted plays an important role. This is especially true for cases when there is a forest between the base station and the receiver. If an antenna fixed at the level of the fifth floor catches the signal perfectly, then when installed at the level of the second floor at the same distance there is no guarantee that the reception will be the same.

Important: It is worth considering how far away the base station is located. Sometimes you can get a good signal, but you cannot connect to the Internet.

Connection difficulties, even if there is 3G coverage, can be caused by station overload. This leads to the fact that even with a strong signal, the speed of Internet access will be low. To solve this problem, you should connect to a station with less load. To do this, you should use a directional antenna.

Even if the coverage map covers the region, too dense buildings may prevent you from receiving a good signal. This requires installation of a planar antenna.

How Yota differs from other operators

When connecting to the Yota network, it is worth finding out how the service here differs from the conditions of other operators.

Standard SIM cards usually work in any mobile device. They can be used under the same conditions in a smartphone, modem or tablet. Yota produces SIM cards separately for each type of mobile device - the conditions for providing services are different. Therefore, it makes sense to insert a SIM card for a smartphone only into this device. It is recognized through the IMEI identifier installed in the permanent storage device.

This limitation is due to the terms of the tariff plans. Internet for a modem is more expensive than for a smartphone. In this regard, SIM cards for these devices must be purchased separately.

The Yota operator does not have a traditional call center. All questions about service, regardless of where the subscriber lives - the Moscow region or the Krasnodar Territory - can be asked in the online chat on the official website. A special mobile application has been developed. There you can enable/disable additional services.

The operator provides unlimited Internet for smartphones. If a SIM card is inserted into a tablet or router, it will be limited to 64 Kbps. If a phone connected to the Internet is used as a modem, the speed will also be reduced - to 128 Kbps. You can remove the restriction for an additional fee. Then access to the Internet at normal speed will be available for 2 or 24 hours.

The package of services for smartphones includes free calls to other Yota subscribers not only in their region (Moscow region), but throughout Russia. The minutes paid under the terms of the offer are intended for calls to numbers of other operators or landline phones.

The coverage map is used to help you select the best operator. MTS, Megafon, Yota, Tele2, Beeline, Rostelecom, Sberbank, Tinkoff, SkyLink LTE are displayed. Mobile Internet and cellular communication zones are easy to compare at our location.

A big problem is finding a mobile Internet zone for better access from a wireless network.
For this purpose, a unique map of 4G network coverage in Russia was created. A poor wireless signal often leaves much to be desired. Many cellular subscribers experience a lot of trouble due to constant loss of connection.

Yota 2G, 3G and 4G coverage

The new provider, with the first 4G frequencies in Russia, was founded in 2006. In 2008, Russia's first Wimax 4G network was launched. Through trial and error, the decision was gradually made to switch to the more promising LTE technology. Now Yota is one of Megafon's divisions. He is the leader of the "Big Three" cellular monopolists in the country. This company is interesting because it provides large volumes of traffic.

Tele2 2G, 3G and 4G coverage area

When we talk about Tele2, we remember low tariffs and decent communication services.
In each place in different regions, territories and republics, LTE network coverage is different from each other. Tele2's large infrastructure will help this operator make its 3g coverage area the fastest possible Internet.

Coverage areas and true Unlimited

Beeline 2G, 3G and 4G coverage map

Beeline has a very large subscriber base. Cellular communications have been modernized and now LTE Internet has become a reality for Beeline. 05/15/2018 We have added to the general coverage map the network zone of this provider. It is worth noting that this people's map was obtained from open sources of the site geo.minsvyaz.ru. The map is used to accurately determine the presence of a signal in the area of ​​the Beeline network. A visitor to our resource can evaluate the network zones of this cellular operator.

Tinkoff 2G, 3G and 4G coverage areas

The coverage of the Tinkoff Mobile network is very large. The new mobile operator operates under the MVNO scheme. It allows you to rent dedicated bandwidth in the frequencies of different operators. Don’t be surprised when you notice that Tinkoff Mobile subscribers are connected where another provider is unavailable. The company offers big bonuses and cashback on transactions. Entering your number automatically includes a cash prize in your account.

How to use a card from MTS, Megafon, Yota, Tele2, Beeline, Rostelecom, Sberbank, SkyLink

  • Yota:
    • Iota 2G
    • Iota 3G
    • Iota 4G
  • Megaphone:
    • Megafon 3G
    • Megafon 4G
    • Megafon 4G+
  • MTS:
    • MTS 2G
    • MTS 3G
    • MTS 4G
  • Tele 2:
    • Tele2 2G
    • Tele2 3G
    • Tele2 4G
  • Crimea:
    • Crimea 2G
    • Crimea 3G
    • Crimea 4G
  • Rostelecom:
    • RTK 2G
    • RTK 3G
    • RTK 4G
  • Sberbank:
    • Sberbank 2G
    • Sberbank 3G
    • Sberbank 4G
  • Beeline:
    • Beeline 2G
    • Beeline 3G
    • Beeline 4G
  • TTK:
    • TTK 2G
    • TTK 3G
    • TTK 4G
  • SkyLink:
  • Volna:
    • Volna 2G
    • Volna 3G
    • Volna 4G
  • KTKRU:
    • KTKRU 2G
    • KTKRU 3G
  • Win mobile:
    • Win 2G
    • Win 3G
    • Win 4G
  • Tinkoff Mobile:
    • Tinkoff 2G
    • Tinkoff 3G
    • Tinkoff 4G
  • Danycom Mobile:
    • Danycom 2G
    • Danycom 3G
    • Danycom 4G

View

By default, operator zones are disabled by default. When you select 4G, you will see LTE coverage areas and approximate tower locations. The location is automatically determined by geolocation tools.

Buttons

At the top of the Map there are buttons for other mobile Internet operators. When clicked, the communication network location zone layer is loaded.

By determining the best coverage area, you can layer layers of different operators on top of each other. Easily determine which operator is right for you.

Coating Color MTS, Megafon, Yota, Tele2, Beeline, Rostelecom, Sberbank, SkyLink

At the bottom of the Coverage Map there are hint pictures with the color background of each operator. When simultaneously enabling Coverage of several layers of Communication Maps, be careful. By turning on and off the operator buttons, you can accurately determine the most convenient operator for you - MTS, Megafon, Yota, Tele2.

Megafon 2G, 3G and 4G coverage area

Cellular networks and mobile Internet have become widespread. Almost every resident of this region has smartphones and tablets. To compare information from official sources, we recommend looking at the Megafon coverage map on the website of this provider.
Tariffs, coverage, equipment

Tariffs, equipment

MTS 2G, 3G and 4G coverage area

MTS network coverage is updated regularly. Our visitors can see the latest map of this mobile operator. The color scheme is distributed in the following order:

Red LTE, pink 3G, pale pink 2G. When viewing the map, you see a list of available coverage from mobile and Internet operators.

The buttons have a separate selection of 2G, 3G, LTE networks. They have a characteristic sign next to the operator's name. By clicking on the button, a tab with available Internet standards to choose from will open.

The photograph shows all available communication standards. By pressing again, you can cancel the selected network, showing the one you need.

Accuracy Coverage Areas MTS, Megafon, Yota, Tele2, Rostelecom, Sberbank, SkyLink

Tele2 network coverage accuracy has been corrected; for comparison, we recommend going to the company’s official website
P.S. — 03/01/2018 mvno (virtual cellular operator) coverage was added Sberbank-Let's Talk (2G,3G,4G), from September 26, 2018 the official name is SBERMobile.
12/21/2016 - coverage maps of Rostelecom (2G,3G,4G) and SkyLink (LTE-450 MHz. Moscow, Krasnodar and surrounding regions have been added. Coverage is growing - you can always determine more precisely on our map)).
01/28/2018 — Coverage of the Republic of Crimea has been updated.
05/16/2018 — Added introductory coverage of 2G,3G,4G Beeline zone.
06/01/2018 — Network coverage of the new mobile virtual operator TTK appeared on our map.
08/19/2018 - Added detailed coverage of the Crimean operator zone: Volna mobile (Volna) - website, Krymtelecom (KTKRU) - website, WIn mobile (WIN) - website.
04/06/2019 — cellular MVNO coverage of the Tinkoff Mobile operator appeared.
Idea and development