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May 2019 www.intellinews.com I Page 6
for 5G networks and SIM cards, but its outcome has not been announced.
Unlike FSB's proposal to be put in charge of 5G development, which would lead to tight government control over the 5G network, the consortium established by Rostelecom and Megafon is likely to be much more flexible and possibly open to other players.
IoT network to be set up in Russia
GLONASS-TM, a company related to the Rotenberg family and state-run tech firm Rostec, will build a RUB53bn ($811mn) federal network for Internet of Things (IoT) in a bid to secure a presence in a market that is expected to boom over the next few years.
Established in early 2018, GLONASS-TM is 25% owned by GLONASS, a state-run traffic control operator, while the other 75% is owned by RT invest, a company co-owned by Igor Rotenberg, the son of president Vladimir Putin’s close friend and stoligarch billionaire Arkady Rotenberg.
The government apparently approves of the
idea as the state commission for radio frequen- cies has already issued GLONASS-TM 863MHz to 865MHz and 874MHz to 876MHz frequencies with- out an open tender, RBC business daily reported.
GLONASS-TM aims to start building the network in 2020 and complete it in three years, projecting to recoup all the investment in its fifth year of operation. Of the RUB53bn investment figure,
Currently, Rostelecom and Megafon, which acquired a smaller operator, Yota, in 2013, have an upper hand over other local telecoms when it comes to 5G prospects as they already own frequencies in the required range.
Still, 5G launch in Russia has been postponed several times, and experts say it is unlikely to take place earlier than in in 2022 or 2023.
construction of base stations will account for about half, or RUB24.6bn.
In 2024, GLONASS-TM projects a revenue of RUB54.5bn and a profit of RUB11.8bn. Inciden- tally the company stressed that it expects no state funding and will entirely rely on private capital.
The IoT network will be used for collecting, monitoring and analysing various kinds of data. So far, the company mentioned several areas, in which it expects IoT to be in demand, such as control of water, electricity and natural gas consumption, monitoring engineering and other systems in buildings, access control and collection of data related to numbers and the behaviour of people in public areas.
Mass adoption of IoT systems should also help to optimize operation of cities, streamlining garbage collection, lighting, road infrastructure and monitoring the quality of air. Similarly, IoT systems could be used to fight forest fires at an early stages.