How Russia's MegaFon is Moving Towards 5G Future

MegaFon has became the first in Russia and one of the first in the world to demonstrate mobile internet speeds more 1GB/s during the St Petersburg International Economic Forum (SPIEF).

MegaFon conducted the first test in Russia of mobile data transfer at speeds close to 1GB/s. The test used Huawei network equipment and a prototype user device based on the Qualcomm Snapdragon X16 LTE modem. The peak data download speed was 1,24 GB/s was achieved using Huawei equipment.

The MegaFon team is constantly working on innovative solutions that will allow the operator’s subscribers to enjoy the most advanced services in the world at an affordable price. MegaFon was the first in Russia to roll out an LTE network and also pioneered development of LTE Advanced (Cat. 6) technology, building what was the world’s fastest commercial network.

The company has traditionally led the introduction of new mobile internet technologies. In February 2015 MegaFon was the first in Russia to demonstrate speeds of 450MB/s on an LTE network by aggregating three frequencies.

State-of-the-art infrastructure gives MegaFon an undisputed advantage in developing the mobile internet of the future. MegaFon is actively involved in formation of the 5G standard with leading international manufacturers of equipment, including chipsets.

The solution tested in St Petersburg can be considered a vital step towards formation of the 5G standard. Speeds of 1GB/s were achieved using:
— Aggregation of three bands: 20 + 20 MHz Band7 (2600 FDD) and 20 MHz Band 3 (1800 MHz FDD);
— 256 QAM;
— MIMO 4×4 technology.

Testing used Huawei tower and radio network equipment and a prototype Qualcomm user terminal equipped with a X16 LTE mobile modem.

“The new 5G standard will make mobile even more affordable. Subscribers will get a lot more services for less money,” said acting MegaFon CEO Sergey Soldatenkov. “Our company was the first in Russia to launch a 3G mobile network in 2008 and an LTE network in 2012. 5G is the next stage in mobile technology and offers a radically new level of service and capabilities for our customers.”

“This demonstration has shown that MegaFon has chosen the right direction and equipment that with just a few software changes can evolve into achieving speeds that will bring us closer to the 5G era. This will radically change the experience for users of mobile services and also bring new services and opportunities for business development. The Huawei DBS3900 base station equipment provided for testing, the AAU3961 active antenna units, the signal processors and software are already available for commercial use on all operators’ networks and we appreciated that MegaFon was the first to be able to demonstrate these cutting edge technologies using Huawei equipment,” said Xu Xueming, Vice President, Huawei, Russia.

“Snapdragon X16 blurs the lines between wireless and wired internet and is a big step forward in the development of 5G. This is very important given the constantly increasing volumes of data being transferred and operators’ desire to ensure a quality user experience. MegaFon’s successful testing of 1GB/s data transfer proves that the eco system is preparing for the emergence of the next generation of broadband mobile services and offerings. We are pleased to work with leading operators around the world, including MegaFon, and to be the leading developer of technologies for the across-the-board rollout of 5G,” said Yulia Klebanova, Vice President, Business Development, Eastern Europe, Qualcomm.

“MegaFon is setting the global pace of mobile services evolution, pioneering commercialization of LTE-Advanced Pro technologies towards the Gigabit era. These latest technologies now being deployed and proved by MegaFon are the foundations for the introduction of 5G services in the very near future,” noted Alan Hadden, Vice President, GSA (Global mobile Suppliers Association).