MTS will get rid of Nokia base stations and install the equipment of the Russian Irtei

2024

MTS will get rid of Nokia base stations and install the equipment of the Russian Irtei

MTS will get rid of foreign-made base stations and install equipment of the Irteya subsidiary. The general director of the latter, Dmitry Lakontsev, spoke about this on May 22, 2024.

According to him, by the end of 2024, MTS will launch base stations 4G and developed by 5G Irteya in its network. MTS confirmed these plans to Vedomosti and noted that the devices will also be replaced. Nokia

𝓲

Фото: Unsplash

As Lakontsev specified, Irteya will put 4G base stations in the real network, and 5G equipment will work in test zones. Before the start of commercial operation of equipment, it must pass the entire test cycle, which will take about three months (from August to October 2024), the head of Irtei explained.

The tests are arranged according to the standard scenario: laboratory, then in open areas, then drive tests, that is, tests of movement in relief and performance tests, when characteristics are removed for a certain number of days from the actually working network of a standard vendor, for example Nokia. And then Nokia is dismantled, our base stations are installed and characteristics are removed for another 10 days and comparable results are shown with a standard vendor, - said Dmitry Lakontsev.

According to him, thanks to the accumulated reserves, cellular operators do not experience an urgent need for new base stations. He also noted that VimpelCom and MegaFon are also beginning to "get acquainted with the technical equipment" of Irtei.

It is strange for people who work in operation to see new equipment that is absolutely perpendicular to what it was before, "Lakontsev said.

Irteya plans to include its products in the register of domestic telecommunications equipment during 2024.^[1]

Start-up of production

In April 2024, MTS President Vyacheslav Nikolaev spoke about the launch of production of branded base stations. The project is being implemented by the subsidiary of the telecommunications operator - LLC Irteya.

In this [2024] year, we will build several hundred base stations, reach 10-20 thousand from next year. We will produce 10-20 thousand per year, - said Nikolaev (quoted by Interfax).

𝓲

Фото: Unsplash

According to him, in 2024 MTS is going to install several hundred base stations on its networks. Nikolaev also noted that the company by April 2024 has enough equipment to create and update telecommunications infrastructure.

We build networks, nothing stops, we continue to work on import substitution, - said the head of MTS.

Managing partner of TMT Consulting Konstantin Ankilov, in a conversation with Vedomosti, suggested that Irteya would create base stations directly for MTS tasks, and the equipment entering the mass market would depend on the maturity of the products. Two years is not enough for serial introduction of devices, the expert believes. He also added that the main problem in the import substitution of communication equipment will be the compatibility of domestic equipment with existing networks.

Telegram 5G According to the author of the abloud62 Aleksei Boyko channel, base stations are likely to operate at 4.8-4.99 GHz, and LTE base stations at the usual frequencies of 2.5 GHz, 2100 MHz, 1800 MHz.

Irtea's export potential is questionable because the decision is unlikely to be price-competitive. We add to this that, like any novelty, will not have a history of successful operation, and the supplier will not have experience in warranty and post-warranty support, Boyko believes.^[2]

2023: MTS selects plant to produce 5G base stations

The MTS group's telecommunications equipment developer "" Irtea agreed on a contract production of base stations with support - and 4G- 5G networks at the facilities of the Tomsk plant Micron"." Dmitry Lakontsev, General Director of Irteya LLC, spoke about this in December 2023.

According to him, the launch of the production of telecom equipment is scheduled for 2024. During this year, it is planned to produce about 1 thousand devices, and in the future, production of up to 10 thousand units per year can be organized. In the first half of 2024, Irteya is going to begin testing equipment produced at the Mikran plant in Moscow and the Moscow region.

Irteya agreed on contract production of base stations at the facilities of the Mikran plant in Tomsk

The cost of one base station in Irtey is not disclosed. According to Kommersant, the price may be 1.5-2 million rubles. As for the localization of equipment, the director of communications "Irtei" Alexander Sivolobov noted that by the end of 2023 the domestic electronic component base is used and its share will only increase. According to the newspaper, the share of foreign components in the base stations of the Russian company by the end of 2023 already exceeds 90%.

A source Kommersant among operators confirmed that the prototype of the Irtei base station is available for study by the end of 2023 and some operators are ready to take samples for testing.

It is still difficult to talk about the cost, since the functionality of the commercial release is not fully understood, "the source said.

In his opinion, the prospects of Irteya in the market will depend on the future interpretation of the term "domestic equipment," since Russian base stations are often still assembled from foreign components. Formally, according to the current requirements of the authorities by 2028, all new stations should only be domestic, the publication says.^[3]

Notes