Ministry says wants 5G JV created before giving frequencies

MOSCOW, Oct 28 (PRIME) -- Allocating frequencies to operators for 5G is premature until a joint venture to clear up the frequencies is settled, Andrei Kantsurov, head of the state communication policy department at the Digital Development Ministry, said on Wednesday at a 5G forum.

In December, state-controlled Rostelecom and the top three mobile operators MTS, MegaFon, and VimpelCom said they will set up a JV for 5G on a parity basis.

“The joint venture is still being coordinated by the Federal Antimonopoly Service. We’re waiting for the results,” Kantsurov said.

“We have to understand how it will be created, how it will function, how the common infrastructure will be used, and, the most important, there should be understanding how the spectrum will be allocated. Unless we understand it, we’ll delay allocation of the spectrum.”

The ministry plans to give the operators a 4.8–4.99 GHz range, but will wait for the joint venture to be set up.

The joint venture could get the frequencies for free without tenders, which will save the operators some 6 billion rubles and enable them to spend the money on the development of networks, the official said.

 (76.4556 rubles – U.S. $1)

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