Operators estimated the costs of 5G at 100 billion rubles.
Within the framework of the CIPR-2025, MTS, T2, Vimpelcom and MegaFon, presented their estimates of the costs of launching a fifth-generation network in Moscow. Companies believe that this will cost him from 100 billion to 106 billion rubles. And the currently offered frequencies 5G require one and a half times more basic stations than when working on the “golden range”, which is now busy with power structures and special services.
“Kommersant” got acquainted with the estimates of the “Big Four” operators on the introduction of the fifth generation of mobile communications (5G) in the Russian mobile services market, presented at one of the CIPR sessions in Nizhny Novgorod on June 3. According to T2, Vimpelcom and MTS, the costs of creating a 5G network in Moscow will amount to 100 billion rubles. According to Megafon – 106 billion rubles. With such indicators, the payback of the project, according to companies, can be from 20 to 30 years. The operators also agreed that the frequency bands planned to use (4.8–4.99 GHz) are not optimal: for such a network it will take about one and a half times more basic stations compared to the “golden range” (3.4–3.8 GHz), which remains inaccessible so far. According to Megafon, to deploy a full-fledged 5G network in the proposed range, you will need to install more than 22 thousand base stations with one operator.
The Golden Range is considered optimal for the implementation of 5G, but in Russia it is busy with power structures. The telecom operators have been applying for it for a long time, since the use of such a range is more profitable than the communication industry in the strategy of the communication industry until 2035 in 4.8–4.99 GHz (with the expansion potential to 4.4–4.99 GHz). They will be played out in the format of two auctions, the price of each of which will exceed 20 billion rubles, but the exact method of conducting auctions has not yet been developed.
The head of the Ministry of Construction of Maksut Shadaev, who was present at the session, added that the authorities seek to develop decisions so that all the money that the Ministry of Cyphra will receive at auctions, go to support the construction of 5G: “In 100 billion we estimate the creation of the network in Moscow, we plan to return to the operators 25%.”
Vimpelcom “Kommersant” said that the proposed range has problems with EMS (electromagnetic compatibility), while “both with existing users of this spectrum within the country, and within the framework of border coordination with neighboring countries”.
This creates difficulties with ensuring stable and high -quality work of networks, since mutual interference is possible. In T2, 4.9 GHz are called a small range of action and the lack of indoor coating (indoor). According to MTS, no more than 3% of smartphones today support 5G in this range.
The high cost and difficulty of building 5G in the proposed range is directly related to tariffs for mobile services. In the world, according to T2 estimates, the average income from one user on fifth -generation networks shows an increase of 15–20% per year. In turn, Megafon offers as an increase in payback periods 5G an acceleration of tariff growth by 3.75 times, referring to the fact that in Europe tariffs are four to five times higher, and in the USA-eight to ten times.
According to Telecom Daily CEO Denis Kuskov, for operators the payback of costs became problematic, since « when they moved from the 3G range to LTE (4G), they left prices at the same level and with unlimited plans. » When switching to a higher standard, the price should be higher, he agrees.
