Ericsson has supported Tele2’s 5G rollout by deploying 25,000 base stations across Russia.
During MWC 2019, when in-person events were less of a rarity, Ericsson and Tele2 reached a five-year network modernisation deal.
The 25,000 base stations milestone represents the completion of 50 percent of last year’s deal, Ericsson claims.
Sebastian Tolstoy, Head of Ericsson in Russia, says:
“Our development enables Tele2’s subscribers the opportunity to use mobile internet services in high quality. As all our network equipment in Russia supports an upgrade to 5G technologies through remote software installation, operators in Russia are able to launch new services as soon as they get the appropriate licenses.
Ericsson’s 5G Innovation Hub in Moscow gives Russian service providers the opportunity to test innovations on live 5G and IoT networks. The Ericsson Academy, our training center co-located at the Innovation Hub, trains more than 1,000 specialists from Russian service providers and students each year.”
The pace of deployment from Ericsson is truly impressive, especially in the context of the ongoing pandemic. If the current pace is maintained, the five-year deal will be completed in two years.
Aleksey Telkov, CTO of Tele2 Russia, comments:
“In the Moscow region, from the very start, we installed 5G-ready base stations. We deployed a pilot 5G network in the center of Russia’s capital, and together with Ericsson, we are carrying out a large-scale network modernization across the country.
This allows us to say that Tele2 is technologically ready for 5G.”
A so-called ‘5G Zone’ was established in the centre of Moscow in August 2019 through a partnership between Ericsson and Tele2.
The 5G Zone uses the 28 GHz band in non-Standalone (NSA) mode and the frequency band for anchor LTE band is Band 7 (2600MHz). 5G pocket routers supporting 28 GHz were used as end-user devices for mobile broadband services with ultra-high speeds.
Ericsson and Tele2’s 5G Zone was used to demonstrate the opportunities 5G presents, including immersive VR entertainment, smart buildings, and other consumer and industrial use cases.
The 28,000 5G base stations milestone reached this week means that more Russians will soon have access to the opportunities presented by the latest generation network.
According to ‘The Digital Economy of Russian Federation’ national program, the Russian government wants to achieve 5G coverage in all main cities by 2024.
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