A joint venture named New Digital Solutions has been formed by Russian operators VimpelCom (Beeline), Rostelecom and Megafon with the goal of building 5G networks together. The Russian operators have agreed to own equal stakes in the joint venture, which is aimed to collaboratively develop radio frequencies for establishing and operating 5G mobile networks. The New Digital Solutions will track testing for electromagnetic compatibility (EMC) and research possibilities of using certain spectrum bands to construct 5G networks.
New Digital Solutions Will Focus on the Release of Spectrum for 5G Services
The joint venture between VimpelCom (Beeline), Rostelecom and Megafon will implement necessary organisational and technical measures to release the spectrum from existing usages. The spectrum that will be released for 5G services will include 694-790 MHz, 3.4-3.8 GHz, 4.4-4.99 GHz, and 24.25-29.5 GHz bands. An agreement was also signed under the framework of the St Petersburg International Economic Forum.
The agreement was given preliminary consent by Russia’s Federal Antimonopoly Services (FAS) on May 12th. Another major market player in the Russian Mobile Networking space called MTS is not participating in the New Digital Solutions joint project. MTS has spread its wings around St Petersburg by launching its pilot 5G network in the past. With this 5G network, 16 crowded locations in the city and the town of Kronshtadt in the St Petersburg region are equipped with a broadband connection of up to 15 Gbps speed.
5G in Russia Has Begun to Lag Behind the Global Trend: VimpelCom
Rashid Ismailov, President of VimpelCom, has commented on the state of 5G in Russia by comparing it with the global trends. He said that the introduction of 5G in Russia has begun to lag behind the global trend. He added that they face some serious roadblocks like shortage of frequencies, regulatory, organisational and technical issues relating to the introduction of the next-generation network technology, that is, 5G. He also said that it is necessary that these problems are addressed and resolved quickly. Rashid expressed concerns that the major players and large operators in the countries alone are not capable enough to resolve these issues.
