Moscow, Russia – MTS PJSC (NYSE: MBT, MOEX: MTSS), the largest Russian telecommunication operator and provider of digital services, has set up a platform for developing and testing digital solutions and devices operating on 5G network at the premises of "Technograd" innovative educational complex at VDNKh. The 5G Center combines the area for new generation network use case scenario research and equipment for case development. 5G Center members will receive expert support from MTS and project partners, and developers of the best solutions will get grants for development.
Any company developing solutions based on fifth generation network can apply for membership at the MTS 5G Center. Screening of candidates is conducted by MTS StartUp Hub team of experts. At the first stage, nine startups selected from about 100 applications received will test their solutions at the 5G Center, including two foreign companies:
Tsuru is a drone control system using 5G technology. The new generation Network is used to transfer data from drones to the ground control station (telemetry) and to synchronize drones with each other;
VoltBro is a robotic telepresence system based on domestic virtual reality helmet, moving platform and 5G data transfer;
BID Technologies is a system of automatic quality control of industrial (serial) production using artificial intelligence technology;
Visorcam is a first-person (athlete or referee POV) sports broadcast service using cameras built into the sports equipment;
Ariellium is a cloud platform for development, generation and delivery of AR content reducing time of AR solutions implementation in customer business;
LoudPlay is a game and application streaming platform from cloud to any device;
RobotsCity (Netherlands) is a universal cloud platform for robot management;
Null Real is a platform for finding accurate user indoor location within augmented reality;
Doubleme (UK) is a holographic communication system operating within AR.
5G Center members will receive mentoring and technical support from MTS, as well as access to MTS Cloud infrastructure. MTS StartUp Hub will oversee operation of the Center and, when necessary, engage experts and business customers from various divisions of MTS, including technical and IT units, Artificial Intelligence Center, Big Data Center and others.
A Demo Day is planned in February, following the results of which MTS seeks to allocate cash grants up to 4.5 million rubles to successful teams for further development of the presented cases. Eventually, cooperation of the members of the 5G Center and MTS is presumable: launching pilot projects with MTS units and scaling them up via contracting, strategic partnership with MTS, an investment from corporate venture fund or acquiring by an MTS startup.
Among the technological partners of the innovation platform were Nokia, which installed a comprehensive Nokia AirScale 5G solution in the Center, as well as Sony, Samsung and Qualcomm, which provided 5G smartphones for testing.
"The new generation network will become a driver for Russia's technological development. It opens a wide window of opportunity for creation and implementation of innovations, that in the foreseeable future will be organically woven into many areas of everyday life. The speed of technology development increases with each new generation of communication, therefore it is vital that by the time the 5G network is launched, the main new generation network use cases be already tested, in order to improve our quality of life. MTS has already set up 5G pilot zones in Moscow and Kronstadt and successfully tested first Smart City solutions. Setting up MTS 5G Center is the next step on this path. According to MTS President Alexey Kornya, “As part of the Center, both freshman teams of innovative solutions developers and experienced ones will be able to test their solutions using the infrastructure of MTS and our partners – the leading international technology companies".
"Sony is actively cooperating with major mobile operators across the board, continuously developing technologies and improving their device characteristics in order to quickly market-launch their 5G Xperia model. In Russia, we have already conducted a series of tests on the fifth generation networks, and now our innovative mobile device model is available for startup pilot projects within the MTS 5G Center", - added Abe Takashi, CEO of Sony Electronics in Russia and CIS countries.
"To fully unlock the huge potential of 5G, it is critical to have a free interaction of all industry ecosystem participants as we approach the mass adoption of this technology. We are excited about today's opening of the MTS 5G Center, which will be a highly suitable platform for early testing of various 5G use case scenarios. This project is an excellent example of an industry partnership aimed at developing 5G ecosystem in Russia. Nokia has a unique integrated portfolio of solutions that allows the company to collaborate with carriers to deploy 5G in full. To date, Nokia has signed 48 commercial contracts in the field of 5G with operators across the globe and is implementing more than a hundred different 5G projects with its customers", - said Demetrio Russo, Nokia's Vice President for Eastern Europe.
"Fifth-generation communications will enable the creation of new products and services that require high data rates. This will provide a new, previously unavailable experience of using devices and help the development of completely new industries. We are pleased to be involved in the opening of hubs like this, and strongly support this initiative, as it contributes to the creation of the necessary infrastructure for wide and global penetration of 5G", — said Vice President and Head of Samsung Mobile in Russia Kim Bum Jin.
"We expect that 5G will radically change not only the telecommunications industry, but also many other industries, such as: entertainment, medicine, car industry, manufacturing and many others. Fifth-generation technologies are primarily designed to create new user scenarios, which is why we are proud to support MTS ' efforts to create a platform for the development of innovative products based on 5G," – said Sergey Korobov, Qualcomm Europe Director for business development.
MTS StartUp Hub is an innovative platform for growing technological projects into profitable businesses, which consists of a corporate accelerator, 5G Center, MTS venture fund, the swift pilot launch program and foreign offices in key innovation centers of the world.
