Page 122 - RusRPTNov20

As reported by ​bne IntelliNews,​ the stalemate over the lack of a clear policy on 5G roll-out in Russia continues, as local operators are likely to be obliged to use domestic equipment only in the 24.25-24.5HZ frequency range.
TT intends to break away from proprietary model of various vendors, such as Huawei, Ericsson and Nokia, the largest suppliers of telecom equipment in Russia. The measure could be facilitated by provided operators with free licences for frequencies should they use open interface equipment based on OpenRAN protocol.
As ​analysed by ​bne IntelliNews,​ the introduction of the 5G network has been impeded by a lack of clear policy, decisions on framework frequency allocation, roll-out strategy and the lack of co-operation both within and with the private sector.
The 24.25-24.5HZ frequency range is the only range available for 5G networks at the moment. The Kremlin chose ​unpopular frequencies for its​ 5G roll-out to drive home-made infrastructure development and could enforce the use of domestically produced servers only​.
9.1.9 ​Tourism sector news
The coronavirus pandemic has cost Russia $7bn in lost tourism receipts​, industry representatives claim. Russia’s border closures — introduced at the end of March — blocked foreign travellers from visiting Russia and effectively wiped out a full year of income for the industry, Andrey Ignatyev, president of the Russian Tourism Union ​told​ the Interfax news agency. Russia has started to open its borders and restart international flights with a handful of countries, although a full reopening is not yet on the cards. Ignatyev expects losses to hit $8-9bn by the end of the year — around 90% of the industry’s total income from foreign travellers.
9.1.10 ​Utilities sector news
Russian utility Rosseti offers to tackle the cross subsidy. ​During the tariff regulation forum in Yalta, First Deputy CEO of Rosseti Andrey Murov noted that Rosseti had come up with a proposal to reshape the tariff system in the electricity sector. He proposed extracting the cross subsidy from the tariff and making it a separate payment for all consumers other than the population. This needs to be coupled with reporting the discount the population gets to the fair price and with creating a mechanism of selective support for socially vulnerable groups, while setting a schedule for moving other consumers gradually to an economically justified tariff. This would also spur energy
122 ​RUSSIA Country Report​ November 2020 www.intellinews.com