Russia has new problems with communication: the implementation of 5G is frozen
The introduction of 5G mobile networks in Russia has become impossible due to international sanctions and a shortage of equipment. Russian experts complained to the publication “Business Petersburg” about critical communication problems.
5G will wait: 4G must be saved
The development of communication in Russia has been frozen due to the departure of companies Cisco, Ericsson, and Nokia from the country. Huawei, because they supplied the Russians with equipment and helped operators test 5G networks. The Russian State Commission on Radio Frequencies requires the use of only Russian-made equipment for 5G networks, which in principle does not exist.
As Oleksiy Boyko, an analyst of the MForum Analytics agency in the field of telecommunications, noted, even parallel import will not save in this case, although theoretically, it is possible to run networks on domestic equipment, even if there are foreign components inside. At the beginning of 2021, the Rostec state corporation announced the creation of the first Russian LTE-Advanced base station, but in fact the Russians developed only individual elements – the rest were purchased abroad. The equipment was never put into mass production, and it is not known how it will work when connecting a large number of devices, it must first be tested in small private networks.
“Domestic solutions can hardly be competitive in terms of price, since we are talking about low-volume production. In order to reach comparable prices, the equipment must be produced in hundreds of thousands of copies and delivered for export,” – the expert explained.
Director of the Society for the Protection of the Internet Mykhailo Klymarev, who was recognized as a foreign agent in the Russian Federation, pointed out that the Russians do not have the ability to produce the microprocessors necessary for 5G operation. In particular, for the work of fog computing, thanks to which they plan to deploy the Internet of Things.
CEO of TelecomDaily Denys Kuskov added that Russia is not capable of manufacturing even equipment for 4G networks, which will soon begin to break down and fail. Since foreign companies have stopped supplying, there is nothing to replace the broken equipment. According to him, the operator did not like the solution for 5G networks from Rostec, now the concern is focused on 4G equipment and it is not known whether they will want to use it.
“One thing is clear: by 2024-2025, one cannot dream that we will have a fifth generation. Even if the frequencies were issued, there is no equipment for it,’ – emphasized Denys Kuskov.
The military does not give the frequency
Frequencies in Russia are a different story. Recently, the RF Commission on Radio Frequencies decided to provide communication operators with the 24.25-27.5 GHz band for the launch of 5G. Experts assure that it is better to deploy fifth-generation networks in the so-called “golden band” of 3.4-3.8 GHz, which is used by military and power structures.
Oleksiy Boyko assures that the allocation of frequencies will not help Russian operators much because these bands are best suited for creating private P5G networks. They could support joint networks in areas with the greatest load, but so far in Russia there are neither of them. There are several test sites in the country where you can connect to 5G, but no operator has yet been licensed to launch the network commercially.
Oleksiy Boyko noted that in 2020, MTS companies issued the first license in Russia for the 24.25-24.65 GHz millimeter band, but it is not suitable for deploying a public network. In two years, the operator has not tried to launch 5G for its subscribers. Probably, there will be no fifth generation connection in Russia for a long time.
Director of the Society for the Protection of the Internet Mykhailo Klymarev, who was recognized as a foreign agent in the Russian Federation, claims that the military zealously controls the “golden band”, although it is absolutely useless for them due to the lack of the necessary devices. According to the expert, civilian mobile phones cannot interfere with the operation of army radars.
Previously, it was written that due to a shortage of equipment, Russian operators were allowed to share mobile base stations. Experts have warned that this will increase the cost of maintaining 4G networks.
Against the backdrop of problems, Russian mobile operators have almost doubled the cost of mobile communications. The Tele2 company forces Russians to abandon unlimited tariffs, which create a heavy load on equipment.
According to experts, there will be enough supplies of equipment to repair Russia’s networks for about a year. Despite this, the authorities refused to introduce additional measures to support mobile operators.
