Russia to Allocate Additional Frequencies for 5G Networks
The Russian government is preparing to free up LTE spectrum for 5G deployment, aiming to ease growing network congestion and accelerate the country’s digital economy.
The Ministry of Digital Development plans to reassign LTE frequencies for the expansion of 5G networks, Deputy Minister Dmitry Ugnivenko announced. The move relies on the principle of technological neutrality, which allows frequencies originally designated for one technology (LTE/4G) to be repurposed for another—in this case, next-generation 5G networks.
The initiative is meant not only to roll out new services but also to address a pressing challenge: surging internet traffic could overwhelm existing LTE infrastructure by 2028–2029. Deploying 5G will offload part of the demand, freeing spectrum and preventing service degradation for subscribers.
The gradual shift to new-generation mobile networks is expected to boost the wider economy, and it is particularly important for the Internet of Things (IoT). The advantages of 5G include high data transfer speeds, low latency, and the ability to support massive device connectivity simultaneously.
