The Russian regional mobile operator Smart-Kazan, a subsidiary of the Tattelecom, has opened LTE services using GSM bands, as the first LTE network working under a technology-neutral principle in Russia, using the 1,800-MHz band. The 4G services are available in the city of Kazan, as well as in 35 municipal centers across the Tatarstan republic.

The technology-neutral principle got state radio frequency commission (SRFC) approval, in December 2013, which allowed operators to provide 3G services on the 890-915-МHz and 935-960-МHz bands and LTE services on the 1,710-1,785-МHz and 1,805-1,880-MHz bands.