The slow deployment of 5G mobile communication in Russia is due to high costs, long payback periods, and unfavorable frequency ranges, according to representatives of the country’s major mobile operators.

At the “CIPR” conference in Nizhny Novgorod, CEOs from “T2 Mobile,” MTS, MegaFon, and VimpelCom discussed the challenges of implementing the new generation network in Russia.

According to Anton Godovikov, CEO of “T2 Mobile,” while 5G has been deployed in dozens of countries, only a few, such as Norway, South Korea, Hong Kong, and mainland China, have a significant number of base stations. He also noted that the technology has not significantly increased operator revenue.

Godovikov stated that building a broad, high-capacity 5G network inside the Moscow Ring Road using the 4.9 GHz band would cost approximately 100 billion rubles with a payback period of 20-30 years.

Vladimir Mesropyan from MegaFon explained that the growth of the subscriber base is not sufficient to justify investments in 5G. He said that recouping 5G investments in the current economic climate would require either a significant increase in subscriber fees, which is unacceptable, or a very long payback period.

Alexander Pankov, President of VimpelCom, echoed similar concerns about payback periods.

Inessa Galaktionova, CEO of MTS, highlighted the impact of 5G on production, finance, and other industries in China. She also agreed with the previous speaker regarding the frequency range.

The preferred frequency range for 5G is 3.4–3.8 GHz; however, in Russia, these frequencies are already allocated to other services, including security forces. The 4.4–4.9 GHz range has been allocated for 5G, but operators consider it less optimal due to the limited availability of compatible devices.

Maksut Shadaev, Minister of Digital Development, acknowledged the challenges but expressed optimism, stating that the delay in 5G deployment allowed for better development of LTE infrastructure. He confirmed plans to auction frequencies in the 4.8–4.99 GHz range this year and mentioned the possibility of partial compensation for network construction costs. He also noted that efforts are ongoing to coordinate private solutions for the “golden range” of frequencies.