MTS is Russia’s largest mobile communications provider and since 2019, it has implemented more than 15 pilot projects for private networks with Ericsson across various industries.
The two companies have additionally signed contracts for the construction of commercial LTE/5G-ready networks in Russia for leading Russian enterprises.
Demand for private networks in various industries is at an all-time high in Russia according to Ericsson. The partnership will meet this demand and support the development of Industry 4.0 which is set to be built on infrastructure provided by LTE/5G networks.
Sebastian Tolstoy, head of Ericsson Russia, said: We believe that all industries, without exception, will benefit from the adoption of 5G technologies and diverse 5G use cases.
“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.”
MTS will offer access to its mobile communications services along with its “experience and capabilities in the creation of mobile communication networks and IT infrastructure” while Ericsson says it will bring a “complete portfolio of products” for LTE and 5G dedicated networks in all frequency bands.
The companies most recently worked together in September 2021 where they built the first commercial network in Russia for Polymetal, one of the world’s largest producers of gold and silver.
Inessa Galaktionova, SVP of telecoms at MTS, said: “This agreement signals a new era of cooperation between MTS and Ericsson.
“Dedicated networks are vital infrastructure that Russian enterprises need for digitalisation and automation of key production processes.
“We will leverage the experience gained over the last two years in creating dedicated technological networks to provide customers with integrated, turn-key solutions for multiple technological needs in various industries including mining, metallurgy, oil and gas, petrochemistry, energy, engineering and transport and logistics".
