OREANDA-NEWS. The working group of ANO «Digital Economy» did not agree the project of the Ministry of Digital Development, Communications and Mass Media on creation of 5G networks on Russian equipment by 2024.

In the current version of the project 5G should be used in 2020 in two sectors of the Russian economy, and by 2024 — in five. Now the Ministry of Digital Development, Communications and Mass Media wants to launch new generation networks in 10 million cities by 2024.

Anna Serebryanikova, the group leader, president of the Big Data Association and member of the MegaFon board of directors, spoke out against the project. She believes that a full launch of services based on 5G should take place no sooner than 2025.

Viktor Belov, MTS Vice-President on Technology, is sure that the proposal of the Ministry of Digital Development, Communications and Mass Media means postponing the implementation of the technology until 2024. Andrey Ushatsky, a member of the board of directors of a number of MTS Group companies, claims that development of 5G networks based on the Russian software only will lead to lagging behind all sectors of the economy.

5G is the fifth generation technology standard for cellular networks, which cellular phone companies began deploying worldwide in 2019, the planned successor to the 4G networks which provide connectivity to most current cellphones.