On September 11, 2026, Russia officially launched 5G services. The State Commission for Radio Frequencies allocated the 4.63–4.99 GHz band to four major operators: MTS, MegaFon, Beeline, and T2. Operators are also permitted to utilize existing LTE frequencies for 5G deployment.
The Ministry of Digital Development reported that 5G is currently active in 16 cities, covering approximately 10 million people. However, the technology is primarily accessible on Android devices, as Apple has not enabled 5G support for Russian networks.
Current deployments largely rely on Non-Standalone (NSA) architecture, which uses existing LTE cores. This approach provides limited performance gains, with the Ministry of Digital Development estimating a 20–25% increase in throughput. Full benefits, such as network slicing and low latency, require a Standalone (SA) architecture.
The Russian market faces challenges regarding equipment and spectrum. The preferred 3.4–3.8 GHz band is occupied by government agencies. Consequently, operators are using the 4.63–4.99 GHz range, which has shorter signal range. Additionally, only about 23% of smartphones in the country support the n79 band required for this frequency.
Financial projections suggest that a consumer-focused 5G model in Russia could result in losses of 84 billion rubles over ten years, with capital expenditures estimated at 286 billion rubles. Conversely, corporate models are expected to generate 63 billion rubles by providing reliable, low-latency connectivity for industrial use.
The transition to domestic equipment is planned to scale from 1% of network infrastructure in 2027 to 100% by 2031. Currently, MTS subsidiary Irteya has shipped 1,300 4G stations with 5G-ready Open RAN architecture, though this remains a small fraction of the total required infrastructure.
