Alisher Usmanov, the Russian billionaire and majority owner of MegaFon, is set to close a deal this week that will combine the telecoms assets of MegaFon and Scartel, the firm that runs Russia’s Yota-branded LTE network.

According to Russia’s Vedomosti business daily, the combined holding will give Usmanov access to more than 50 percent of Russia's LTE spectrum ahead of upcoming fresh auctions.

Earlier reports suggest that the merger will see Usmanov own 80 percent in a holding company, which in turn would own 100 percent of Scartel and 50 percent plus one share of MegaFon.

Scartel’s Yota – a former WiMAX operator – was transformed last year into a JV between MegaFon, MTS, VimpelCom and national broadband operator Rostelecom to build a shared LTE network. But the project has run into various problems, and several of the operators involved are reportedly now looking at launching LTE outside of the Yota arrangement.

However, MegaFon proceeded to ink a deal with Yota in February 2012 to use the latter’s LTE spectrum, enabling it to become the first of the big three operators to launch commercial 4G services (Yota has access to MegaFon’s network for its own operations in return).

MegaFon subsequently switched on LTE networks in Moscow, Krasnodar and Novosibirsk and Sochi, the venue for the Winter Olympics in 2014. It plans to go live in at least four more cities by year-end.

Meanwhile, MegaFon was named as one of the eight operators this week given permission by Russian telecoms regulator Roskomnadzor to participate in the upcoming LTE auctions. The list also includes VimpelCom, MTS, Rostelecom, TTK, Summa Telecom, Tele2 Voronezh and Tele2 Omsk. Bidding starts on 12 July.