3GPP confirms compliance of Rostelecom 5G trials with 3GPP most advanced standards

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Moscow, Russia – November 21, 2018 – Rostelecom PJSC (MOEX: RTKM, RTKMP; OTCQX: ROSYY), the largest digital service provider in Russia, today announces that based on 3GPP Mobile Excellence Centre’s analysis its 5G mobile trial operation was recognized as fully compliant with industry-leading technical standards and best practices in communications and ready for commercial launch..

The trial operations have been in place in the innovation city of Innopolis in the Republic of Tatarstan since May this year. The next generation mobile network was deployed by Rostelecom in association with the Republic of Tatarstan's Ministry of Informatization and Communications and Tattelecom communications provider. As a technology partner Huawei provided equipment for the projects. The trial operations are used to carry out market research of services provided with the use of 5G networks, demonstrate commercial opportunities and search for effective business solutions. According to 3GPP, the trial operations meet all technical standards of 5G networks.

The high capacity (up to 2.1 Gbps per sector) of Rostelecom 5G network and low delays of about 1-3 milliseconds allow for video broadcast of major events in real time in 4K and 8K Ultra HD mode, connect AR and VR devices, conduct virtual tours. Particularly promising is 5G application for unmanned vehicles, smart cities and setting high-speed communication infrastructure where laying the last mile is too expensive or impossible. It is also relevant in provision of communication services in public and crowded places such as airports, railway stations, stadiums and music sites. The advantages of 5G were highlighted in Innopolis by the example of LoudPlay gamers' service. This includes rental of computing power in the cloud to run high-speed computer games in Full HD resolution on obsolete and low-powered computers and mobile devices.

Adrian Scrase, CTO at ETSI and Head of 3GPP Mobile Excellence Centre:
"Rostelecom 5G trial operations meet all most advanced technical standards in communications and have witnessed impeccable practical implementation of a complex service for computer gamers that requires a high-speed Internet connection and low latency, so we're absolutely confident, that already now Rostelecom is ready to launch commercial operation in 5G segment".

Rostelecom was allotted 3,5 GHz sub-band by Russia’s State Commission for Radiofrequencies to perform 5G trials ahead of expected launch of commercial 5G mobile networks in Russia in 2020.

Rostelecom also owns a subsidiary FreshTel which has a large frequency resource to potentially provide 5G services in the 3.4GHz and 3.5GHz bands (more than 80% of this spectrum is composed of the 20-70 MHz bandwidth).

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5G – is a new generation of mobile communications, further development of previous standards (GSM, 3G, 4G/LTE). Commercial operation of 5G is expected to start after 2020. The record data transmission speed in 5G network trial operations was as high as 25 Gbps. Such values raise the possibility to broadcast videos online in 4K and 8K Ultra HD resolution.