UPDATE: MTS receives first 5G license for 24.25–24.65 GHz in Russia

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MOSCOW, Jul 28 (PRIME) -- Major Russian mobile operator MTS has become the first in the country to receive a license to provide mobile connection services of standard 5G/IMT-2020 in the range of 24.25–24.65 GHz in 83 out of 85 regions till July 16, 2025, the company said on Tuesday in a statement.

The first 5G users will be business clients and large manufacturers.

“The receipt of the first license in Russia for 5G is a historic moment for the industry. We’ve become by one more step closer to a new era in the history of communication, digitalization, and development of new IT solutions and products. For MTS, 5G technologies are an important tool to further already active development of the yet-to-be-completed product ecosystem, mainly in the sphere of projects of automation for business users,” President Alexei Kornya said.

5G will allow corporate clients to use technologies of artificial intelligence, the Internet of Things, augmented and virtual reality for remote control of equipment, self-driving transport, interactive programs of education, and creation of the most cutting-edge systems of quality control at manufacturing facilities.

Information and research agency TelecomDaily head Denis Kuskov said that 5G networks could be unrolled in the country’s industrial segment in late 2020 or early 2021.

“These are real terms for the start of provision of services in regions of Russia in the machine-to-machine (M2M) sphere,” Kuskov said.

The allocation of the frequencies to MTS is related to M2M, which is artificial intelligence and installation of SIM cards into different devices. “At least, in the M2M sector, things have moved from the deadlock,” the expert said.

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