Russian operator, MTS has signed a 5-year EUR$400million deal with Ericsson to upgrade its RAN and core network to prepare for 5G and IoT, in a number of regions in the country.
The signed deal is part of the MTS and Ericsson strategy aimed at the technical preparation of the operator's network for the rapid launch of new services based on 5G and IoT technologies for commercial operation.
The introduction of new software and hardware ready for support of 5G and IoT will allow MTS to upgrade 2G, 3G, and LTE MTS networks in Volga, Northwestern, Siberian, Ural and Southern federal districts. The total volume of products and services to be purchased from Ericsson may amount to almost two billion euros with a growing total for the period from 2008 to 2020.
Under the deal, MTS will receive hardware to operate wireless communication networks, core equipment and the latest versions of Ericsson Mobile Softswitch Solution (MSS) and User Data Consolidation (UDC) solutions that will enable consolidation of all user data within the network. In addition, Ericsson will deliver software solutions for the mass deployment of IoT, providing data transfer from counters and sensors using the technologies NB-IoT and Cat-M1.
This agreement between MTS and Ericsson is an important step towards a large-scale commercial development of IoT and 5G in Russia. During the FIFA World Cup 2018 in Russia Ericsson and MTS will deploy demo zones using the 5G technology solutions.
Andrei Ushatskiy, VP, Technology and IT, CTO, MTS
Our subscribers to be the first in Russia who will use services and products based on 5G and IoT technologies in 2018.
Arun Bansal, Head of Ericsson in Europe and Latin America, Ericsson
5G will be a major technology in booming industrial digitalization, creating and enhancing industry digitalization use cases such as immersive gaming, autonomous driving, remote robotic surgery, and augmented-reality support in maintenance and repair situations.
