MTS Receives Russia’s First 5G Services License

MTS, Russia’s leading mobile operator and media and digital services provider, has received the country’s first license for 5G operations in the 24.25–24.65 GHz mmWave band under the 5G/IMT-2020 standard.

As a result, the company plans to market innovative new solutions that leverage cutting-edge high-bandwidth, low-latency connectivity for enterprise and industrial applications.

The license, which was 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.

Alexey Kornya, MTS President & CEO, commented: “Obtaining Russia’s first 5G license is a historic moment for our industry, bringing us one step closer to a new era in the history of communications, digitalization, and information technology. For MTS, 5G will be a key enabler in developing our digital ecosystem — in particular by unlocking new automation opportunities for B2B customers. Fifth-generation connectivity will enable corporate customers to leverage new advances in AI, IoT, and AR/VR, as well as interactive education, autonomous transportation, and industrial process automation,” he said. “While we still have a long way to go before mass adoption, it’s already clear that in the next few years 5G is set to impact every industry and become a key growth driver for the economy as a whole.”

In the near future, MTS plans to launch a range of 5G-based solutions for corporate customers, with development and testing of a variety of business uses cases already underway, including:

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.

The new license was granted by Roskomnadzor based on the March 17, 2020 decision by the Russian State Commission for Radio Frequencies providing for 5G/IMT-2020 connectivity for networks in Russia operating in the 24.25–24.65 GHz mmWave band.

Mobile TeleSystems PJSC is the leading telecommunications group in Russia and the CIS, provides a range of mobile, fixed-line and digital services. We serve over 80 million mobile subscribers in Russia, Armenia, and Belarus, and about 9 million customers in Russia of fixed-line services, including fixed voice, broadband internet, and pay-TV.