MTS teams with Samsung on North-West Russian LTE network

Russian operator group MTS plans to launch its first MTS LTE FDD network in Russia’s Northwest Federal District with Korean vendor Samsung. The rollout of the network is a part of the three-year agreement signed between the two firms in 2013.

The rollout is now in its final stage and this phase will also mark the beginning of the testing of network services. By the end of 2015, MTS plans to deploy 4G LTE base stations in the area to ensure exceptional network performance.

Under the two firms’ agreement, both have decided to cooperate in the supply chain, commercial launch of telecommunications equipment and other related services such as integration into existing infrastructure, demonstration tests and technical support.

MTS and Samsung will also cooperate in consumer device sales through the MTS Retail Chain. MTS will also introduce special tariff plans for flagship Samsung devices to be released in 2013-2014.

MTS’ LTE network is also currently under construction in St. Petersburg and a number of cities in the Leningrad region.

“We plan to put our LTE network into commercial operation in the Pskov region by the end of 2013. 4G will be available in Pskov and some other towns in the region at the same time,” said director of MTS in the North-West region Kirill Dmitriev.

“We can already see that total data traffic has more than doubled in these regions in the past year. Due to the emergence of a large number of smartphones supporting 4G, the demand for high-speed internet on fourth-generation networks will grow exponentially. That is why we continue to actively invest in developing new technologies that are going to meet market needs with our partner Samsung, not only world leader in user devices but also in LTE network deployment”.

IP Hong, VP and head of Europe and CIS sales at Samsung Networks Business added that the deal is a milestone for Samsung in accelerating its network business in Russia and the wider CIS region.

“Samsung has accrued significant achievements in the most advanced and active LTE markets such as large scale deployment in the U.S. and Japan, and the world’s first LTE-Advanced commercialization in South Korea. We strongly believe that the expertise gained from these ventures will benefit MTS and ourselves in bringing an advanced 4G LTE experience to Northwest Russia,” he said.

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