MTS has received Russia’s first license for 5G operations in the 24.25-24.65 GHz mmWave band under the 5G/IMT-2020 standard.

MTS is planning to make an investment of RUB 90 billion towards Capex in Russian and other locations in 2020.

MTS earlier said its cash capital expenditures in Q1 2020 amounted to RUB 20.2 billion, with a group cash Capex / sales ratio of 16.9 percent.

MTS continued to heavily invest in core network infrastructure, with a focus on enhancing network capacity and quality for customers.

MTS added 3,800 additional base stations across 69 Russian regions, including more than 3,300 new 4G base stations. MTS’s LTE network coverage increased to an estimated 83 percent of the Russian population.

The license, granted by the Russian Federal Service for Supervision of Communications, Information Technology, and Mass Media (Roskomnadzor), covers 83 Russian regions and expires July 16, 2025.

MTS plans to launch 5G-based solutions for corporate customers. The telecom operator did not reveal specific time-frame for its 5G launch. MTS is in the process of developing and testing of a variety of business uses cases.

# Manufacturing — machine vision, predictive analytics, and digital twins for remote equipment monitoring and control

# Agriculture, pulp & paper, and oil & gas — drone-based infrastructure inspection and monitoring

# Healthcare  — remote surgery and patient monitoring

# Retail — digitized smart stores and biometric payment systems

# Logistics — automated warehouse operations and autonomous vehicles

MTS president and CEO Alexey Kornya said: “For MTS, 5G will be a key enabler in developing our digital ecosystem — in particular by unlocking new automation opportunities for B2B customers.”