MTS has revealed the telecom operator’s 5G achievements — in the sub-6GHz spectrum and millimeter-wave frequencies — in Russia.

MTS has conducted the first 5G test of a preproduction Samsung 5G smartphone in the country, as well as launching the first operable mid-band 5G pilot zones in Moscow and St. Petersburg.

MTS has achieved a data transfer rate of 2.1Gbps on a preproduction Samsung S10 5G smartphone in Moscow. Nokia was the technology partner. Samsung S10 5G smartphone featured Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 855 platform and X50 modem. MTS engineers conducted 5G tests on an MTS pilot network based on Nokia AirScale mmWave Radio equipment.

MTS also launched Russia’s first urban 5G coverage on St. Petersburg’s island of Kronstadt, as well as a 5G cell in Moscow near the Smart City pavilion in one of the city’s most historic parks, VDNKh. Coverage includes both 4.9GHz mid-band and 28GHz millimeter-wave frequencies. Huawei was the technology partner.

“We plan to open a 5G Lab at the Moscow pilot zone that will provide a platform for startups to develop new products and solutions based on fifth-generation connectivity,” said Inessa Galaktionova, MTS First Vice President for Telecommunications.

Potential 5G applications include smart city solutions in transportation, as well as use cases in IoT, cloud computing, telemedicine, autonomous vehicles, and virtual and augmented reality (VR/AR).