MegaFon checked the readiness of the network and the 5G device

MegaFon, with the support of Qualcomm Technologies and Nokia, tested the readiness of the infrastructure and mobile device ahead of the operational launch of 5G networks in the mm-band.

Preliminary tests were carried out at MegaFon's Federal Research and Development Center (St. Petersburg). The tests used a mobile test device based on the Qualcomm® Snapdragon™ Mobile Platform and Nokia's infrastructure equipment, the Nokia AirSacle Base Station and 5G Massive MIMO antenna systems. The equipment was configured to operate in the n257 band with a carrier frequency of 26.700 GHz. The test results proved that the combined technologies can provide mobile Internet connection speeds above 5 Gbps.

MegaFon plans to use this hardware configuration to roll out its first 5G pilot segment in Moscow this fall. The initial pilot segment will pave the way for rapid testing of 5G services and terminals this year, with the potential for 5G deployment as early as 2020. The new 5G network will greatly improve throughput at congested locations while providing users and services with the benefits of multi-gigabit speeds and ultra-low latency.

“Today we once again confirmed our technological leadership and took one more step to provide our customers with the fastest mobile communications. The unique capabilities of 5G technology will provide a completely new mobile user experience that was not previously possible,” says Frederic Vanoschuize, Director of Technical Innovation and Infrastructure at MegaFon.

“Our collaboration with MegaFon aims to bring the latest technological advances in mobile communications and the benefits of 5G to Russian users,” said Yulia Klebanova, Vice President of QUALCOMM Europe Inc. for business development. – Technology that opens up new innovative models for using communications using high-speed mobile Internet and artificial intelligence. Combined with the use of mmWave spectrum, these implementations will provide large cities with the highest performance in the most efficient way. MegaFon's 5G network will provide virtually unlimited network capacity in the busiest places, such as business centers, stadiums, main streets, congress halls, railway stations, and airports.”

“We are very pleased to partner with MegaFon on this project. Nokia has a unique and comprehensive portfolio of technologies to address a wide range of radio frequency bands, from 6 GHz to millimeter wave bands for high performance and high network capacity, to sub-6 GHz bands for wide network coverage. 5G technology is rapidly evolving in all regions of the world, and Nokia continues to lead the way in its deployment with our customers, with 48 commercial 5G contracts to date with carriers worldwide,” adds Demetrio Russo, Vice President, Nokia East Europe.