Russian telecom operator MTS announced its ambitious investment plans for entering into the 5G mobile segment to boost IoT revenue.
MTS is already the number one telecom operator in the Russian M2M market. the Russian M2M / IoT market will grow at 40 percent in 2017, according to industry reports.
MTS and MGTS, a wireline operator in Russia, will strengthen cooperation in the development of mobile and fixed internet access.
MTS plans to increase the number of base stations connected to GPON from 25 percent to 40-45 percent. This decision will allow MTS to use the resources of mobile infrastructure on maximum as well as will improve quality and stability of customer services.
Cisco – in its Cisco Mobile Visual Networking Index (VNI) — forecasts that 5G will account for 1.5 percent of total mobile data traffic by 2021, and will generate 4.7 times more traffic than the average 4G connection and 10.7 times more traffic than the average 3G connection.
“With the proliferation of IoT, live mobile video, augmented and virtual reality applications, and more innovative experiences for consumer and business users alike, 5G technology will have significant relevance not just for mobility but rather for networking as a whole,” said Doug Webster, vice president of service provider marketing.
43 percent of SIM-cards used in M2M solutions in Russia operated on the MTS network in Q3 2016, , according to the latest report from Advanced Communications and Media (AC&M) on the M2M/IoT market in Russia.
MTS mainly worked on large-scale M2M projects in the automotive and energy industries. Since mid-2013 MTS has been developing Smart Car Insurance, fleet management telematics solutions, enabling customers to reduce the cost of their auto insurance.
Currently, around 30 percent of INTOUCH insurance contracts are being concluded with the Smart Car Insurance solution.
There are around 10 million connected IoT devices – mainly in automotive and retail, growing at 30 percent increase from last year, in Russia. The growth of the connected cars segment is a very promising development for IoT implementation in the mid-term, driven by the increasing number of potential users.
MTS and MGTS will cooperate in testing of 5G standard. MTS will conduct testing of pilot zones of the 5G standard, which will be launched during the 2018 FIFA World Cup. MGTS will test interoperability of Nokia’s 10GPON and 5G-technologies.
MTS and Finland-based telecom equipment maker Nokia have already tested 5G technologies and mobile data transmission reached 4.5 Gbps.
“In relation to 5G technology development, MGTS’s fixed channels of 10GPON standard can become a basis for rapid construction of a new generation mobile network in the Moscow region,” said Igor Egorov, director of Moscow region, MTS.
MGTS will launch mass adoption of XG-PON (10GPON) in its network in 2017. This will allow MGTS to become a digital platform for mobile operators at transition to 5G. First 10GPON test zones will appear in 2017-2018 at the most loaded parts of the network. The 10GPON transition is planned to be completed by 2020.
MGTS in association with China telecom equipment maker Huawei tested GPON and XG-PON interoperability at its testing center, achieving maximum downstream speed of 8.5 Gbps. According to the testing result, both GPON and XG-PON standards coexist on the same distribution network.
MTS, which has slashed its capital expenditure (Capex) to RUB 85 billion in 2016 from RUB 96 billion, is yet to reveal its 5G investment plans.
Baburajan K
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