Russia’s largest mobile operator Mobile TeleSystems (MTS) and Telefonaktiebolaget LM Ericsson (Ericsson) have signed a strategic partnership to develop private 5G-ready networks (dedicated networks) for industrial enterprises in Russia.
According to a press release from the Swedish multinational networking and telecommunications company, MTS has successfully implemented more than 15 pilot projects for private networks in partnership with Ericsson across various industries since 2019.
The two companies have also signed contracts for the construction of commercial LTE / 5G-ready networks in Russia for multiple leading Russian enterprises, including SIBUR, EVRAZ, and Severstal.
In September 2021 MTS and Ericsson built the first commercial dedicated network in Russia for Polymetal, one of the world's largest producers of gold and silver.
In Russia, there is increasing demand for dedicated private networks from various industries - particularly the mining and energy sectors. The goal of the strategic partnership is to meet this demand and jointly support the development of Industry 4.0, which will be built on the advanced network infrastructure that LTE / 5G networks provide.
Sebastian Tolstoy, Head of Ericsson Russia, said: “This is an opportunity to make a significant contribution to the development of Industry 4.0 and strengthen the competitiveness of enterprises in Russia. We believe that all industries, without exception, will benefit from the adoption of 5G technologies and diverse 5G use cases.”
He added: “Dedicated networks with ultra-high bandwidth and super-low latency allow enterprises to run multiple use case scenarios on a single network, help increase the safety of people, and improve the environmental friendliness of production. From our work with a variety of Russian companies, we see the mining and energy sectors are ready to deploy and actively operate dedicated networks. In the near future, we expect demand from other industries to grow.”
Dedicated networks provide a fit-for-purpose, high-performance, and agile private network, guaranteeing enterprises the connectivity and security they need with either 4G or 5G cellular connectivity, the release said.
