Info
Team Work
The 9th International Wireless Russia Forum: 4G, 5G & Beyond – Evolution of Mobile and Fixed Wireless Networks held on May 30-31 in Moscow gathered more than 250 delegates from the government, carriers, manufacturers, system integrators, distributors, financial and investment organizations, consulting companies, mobile retailers, content and service providers, and the media.
Wireless Russia Forum was held in conjunction with the 3rd Federal Forum Telecom QoS Russia 2017 – The Quality of Telecommunication Services in Russia.
The forum was endorsed by: Global Mobile Suppliers Association (GSA), 5G Infrastructure Association, 3rd Generation Partnership Project, National Radio Association, LTE Union, International Academy of Communication, Russian Association of Electronic Communications, National association of house communications and information networks (NADIKS), IT Directors Club, and Association of Recruitment Consultants.
Rostelecom was Infrastructure Partner of Wireless Russia Forum, ZTE Corporation – Platinum Sponsor, Ericsson and Huawei were Golden Sponsors, and Nokia – Bronze Sponsor. Gilat Satellite Networks Ltd. was Partner of the event, Keysight Technologies – Session Sponsor, Cambridge Broadband Networks (CBNL) – Lunch Sponsor. The Forum was also supported by Mobile Service, Protei and National Instruments. The exhibition part of the forum showcased wireless and IoT solutions from ZTE Corporation, Orion Sistema, Keysight Technologies and National Instruments.
The plenary session was kicked off by Dmitry Tur, Deputy Director of the Department of Radio Control and Communications Networks, Russian Ministry of Telecom and Mass Communications. He spoke about the main areas for improvement in the regulatory framework around radio frequency spectrum, and the problems which need to be addressed in order to implement 5G. He was followed by Jean-Pierre Bienaimé, Secretary General of 5G Infrastructure Association (5G-IA) who presented an overview of 5G infrastructure and eco-system. Erik Guttman, Chairman of 3GPP Service and System Aspects Technical Specification Group (TSG SA), dedicated his report to system standardization in 3GPP. “5G networks and their evolution is a joint effort of a wide array of organizations. We are now working on a roadmap, which would accommodate the interests of all stakeholders. This document will be ready by the end of 2020,” emphasized Erik Guttman.
“We are facing some fundamental changes not only in ICT, but also in other industries,” continued Andrey Zimenkov, Head of B2B sales channels and client experience at Rostelecom.
According to him, in order to unlock the whole potential of 5G, Russian operators will need to make substantial investments, at least RUR 1 trillion, and no operator can do it alone. The last to speak at the plenary session was Albert Nalbandyan, Chairman of the Working Group on Preparation for WRC-19, Regional Commonwealth in the Field of Communications and Adviser to the Minister of Transport and Communications of Armenia. He spoke about the choice of new frequency bands for new generation networks and the preparation for WRC-19.
The discussion that followed was dedicated to the preparation of network infrastructure to 5G and brought together: Andrey Grachev, Head of Network Development in MegaFon; Erik Guttman, Chairman of 3GPP Service and System Aspects Technical Specification Group (TSG SA); Andrey Zimenkov, Head of B2B sales channels and client experience at Rostelecom; Tigran Pogosyan, Senior VP in Russia, ZTE Corporation; Olga Ramina, Head of Radio Access Network Department, Technical Block of Corporate Center MTS Group, and Dmitry Konarev, Chief Mobile Broadband Scientist, Huawei Russia.
The first session of the forum looked into existing innovative wireless technologies as elements of future 5G networks. Speakers included: Dmitry Konarev, Chief Mobile Broadband Scientist, Huawei Russia; Georgy Muratov, 5G expert, Ericsson Russia; Francis Zhu, Strategic Marketing Director, ZTE Corporation; Lidia Varukina, Head of Technology in East Europe, Nokia; Larisa Tsytsura, Country Manager Russia and CIS, Cambridge Broadband Networks Ltd; Maxim Sokovishin, Application Expert, Wireless Communication, Keysight Technologies; Sergey Vishnevsky, Head of IT and Cloud, Ericsson Russia; Raz Ben-Haim, Sales Manager, Mobile Operators, Gilat Satellite Networks; and also Natalia Kuleshova, Key Account Manager, Mobile Service.
The second session was dedicated to optimization of carrier’s operating expenses when rolling out 5G networks. Speakers included: Dmitriy Ilyin, Infrastructure Development Director, VimpelCom; Maria Kulish, Head of Procurement for Network Construction and Outsourcing, VimpelCom; Vladimir Valkovich, Deputy General Director for Technology, Virgin Connect, and Mikhail Mizbakhov, Technological rent department, Mobile TeleSystems.
The first day of the forum concluded with a reception dedicated to the 30th global anniversary of GSM, and the 25 years this standard has been in Russia.
The second day was kicked off by a session on IoT: on the path towards billion connected devices. It featured reports from Maxim Sokovishin, Application Expert, Wireless Communication, Keysight Technologies; Albert Mohan, Principal Wireless Architect, ZTE Corporation; Boris Dezier, Vice President Sales and Co-founder of Actility; Marat Nuriev, Marketing and Sales Director for IoT, Huawei Russia, and also Valery Tikhvinskiy, Deputy General Director for Innovative Technologies, National Research Institute of Technologies and Communications (NRITC).
The following round table “5G: Network for people or devices?” gathered: Maxim Garusev, Head of Marketing Department, Moscow City Telephone Network (MGTS); Erik Guttman, Chairman, 3GPP Service and System Aspects Technical Specification Group (TSG SA); Dmitry Elansky, CTO, Center2M; Sergey Irevli, Product Development Director, Mobile TeleSystems (MTS), and Vladimir Shaporov, Head of Sales, Carrier and Regional market business, TECHNOSERV Group.
The round table in conclusion of the forum was entitled “MVNO and MVNE in Russia: New phase”. Panelists included: Andrey Azhigirov, Deputy General Director and Director of “Inter-operator interaction” Business Unit, MTT; Maxim Burtsev, MVNO Project manager, Moscow City Telephone Network (MGTS); Sergey Volkov, Chief MVNO Officer, (Tele2); Yury Gorshkov, Board Chairman, MS-Spetstelecom; Andrey Egorov, Mass Market Business Development Director, NETBYNET; Pavel Mishin, Product Manager, Atlas, and Vladimir Freinkman, Marketing and System Studies Director, Protei.
For the ninth time in a row, the forum was a high-profile meeting place where industry professionals could discuss new generation networks and do networking.
