Mobile technology for broadband in Russia

Broadband is evolving in all the world thanks to the Broadband Society. The countries are conscious of the need of solid infrastructures, to guarantee the data transmission, in a domestic and an enterprise field. In collaboration with Daria Proskuryakova, we study the case of Russia. We live in the 21st century, in which technology evolves at the speed of light. People consume information from various sources without even thinking through which is not an easy way to receive these news, what technologies were used, and how much overall human resources were spent.

We would like to talk about the development and status of broadband in Russia, and to be more specific, we would like to consider the differences between broadband in cities and towns of Russia. It seems to me that this should be an interesting topic for very many, including European colleagues.

Everyone knows that Moscow is the capital, that there is still another cultural capital - St. Petersburg, that in Russia there is such a place as Siberia, perhaps a couple more fairly basic facts and that’s all. Unfortunately, and perhaps even, fortunately, this is far from the case.

Russia takes 12th place among 193 countries in terms of gross domestic product according to statistics of the International Monetary Fund and Focus Economics in $ billion per 2019 year. Moreover, the GDP growth is expected to reach 3% by the end of 2024 according to the forecasts of the Ministry of Economic Development of the Russian Federation. Every year, Russia tries to develop and make a more comfortable telecommunication infrastructure and the market as a whole. We are actively introducing changes into our daily lives and are not nearly behind the whole world, and even sometimes ahead of something.
Communication is one of the most important systems for influence on the world stage. Communication is the ability to communicate directly with the world. There is a range of indicators, international ratings, indices that determine the country's position in the world. Russia’s analysis was repeatedly carried out using four criteria, the ICT development index: the network readiness index, the ICT development index, the e-government development index, and the knowledge economy index.
The Russian telecommunications market is considered one of the largest in Europe. 143.5 million people use the services of Russian operators, that is, they are on the Russian network. Despite a number of economic problems related to the sanctions, Russia successfully continues to hold onto the market and develop the telecommunications sector.
In Russia there are 3 major mobile operators: MTS, VimpelCom (Beeline, Megafon), Tele2 Russia / Rostelecom. Until 2015, there were 2 operators in Russia. Five years ago, in October, Rostelecom and Tele2 Russia merged, leading to another giant Tele2 entering the Moscow market. Tele2 was a regional mobile operator and for a very long time tried to break into such large cities of Russia as Moscow and St. Petersburg. The operator held fast to the market and provided cheap tariffs and services to its subscribers in comparison with other mobile communication companies, due to which it ultimately achieved success - it entered federal market of the Russian Federation. Tele2 lured a very large stratum of people from two federal companies: MTS, VimpelCom (Beeline, Megafon).

In 2018, a new thing happened. The operators connected to the 5G network. In large cities, such as Moscow and St. Petersburg, communication was immediately quickly established, as they are strategically important for the development of the state. In the regions, they are still connected to the network to this day.

In the summer of 2018, the World Cup in Russia was held. The Russian network was very heavily loaded, as millions of fans used it throughout the month while the championship was taking place. Mobile operators have been given a great responsibility to ensure communications with different and very distant corners of the world. Operators successfully tested 5G servers during broadcasts and dissemination of various information during the championship.
The 5G network also works successfully, due to the fact that it uses the cone-shaped structure of the transition from CPW to SIW during startup to achieve a smooth and broadband mode of operation. In addition to this, mushroom-shaped EBG blocks installed along the channel are used. This is done in order to avoid the risk of the adhesion effect of unnecessary components in the circuit and side leakage. This waveguide works much more successfully, which leads to the effective operation of frequencies in the range.
Earlier in Russia, the LTE network was very actively developed and used. The network had a very good and voluminous infrastructure and supported growth opportunities using broadband access and data services. As we know, these factors can greatly affect the share of revenue from mobile communications. At present, in Russia there is an equally successful telecommunications network using LTE-A technology. This network has expanded and improved signal transmission, which later prepared a good platform for the 5G network.
In Russia, Telecom continues to develop and improve the infrastructure of a convenient network for its customers.
Mobile network is very popular. More than 230 million people resort to mobile services, and the penetration rate of SIM cards reached 157% by the end of 2018. Moreover, compared with previous years, the level of acquisition of SIM-cards has fallen. In the Russian Federation, people stopped buying two, three SIM-cards for one person, all now basically cost one. The reason for this is very simple: service is more profitable, people do not have to pay twice or even three times for the same network.
In addition, Russia is a very powerful modernizer of fiber-optic broadband access with its own broadband access network. This process is controlled by Rostelecom. This company covers more than 33 million buildings. According to Rostelecom statistics for 2016, approximately 60% of broadband customers were in fiber-optic infrastructure. Every year, the number of subscribers falling under fiber-optic infrastructure is growing.
On November 21, 2019, the 9th International Forum “Broadband Russia Forum: the evolution of broadband access networks in the era of the digital economy, distributed data centers and cloud services on the eve of 5G launch” was held in Moscow. This conference was aimed at the possibility of using the urban infrastructure and facilities of state companies for the development and installation of points for the 5G network. The issue of non-discriminatory access of operators to apartment buildings and the adoption of a bill on this topic was also raised.
In the Russian Federation, one may encounter the problem of placing special points for communication, since far from all places it is easy to extend the cable and put in special equipment for technical reasons.
If we talk about Moscow or St. Petersburg, then these cities are considered one of the most developed places in Russia. A cable will be laid all over the city, and even in hard-to-reach places in Moscow or St. Petersburg there will be good communication. Unfortunately, in some regions it is not possible to establish stable mobile communications, for example, in some small city in Siberia. It is also very difficult to install radio equipment near private property, but this problem also arises in large cities.
A very strong awareness-raising campaign is underway in Russia. This was done in order to place equipment easier, so that residents do not protest and there is no kind of unrest.
Russia has a very developed culture of its own, private property. This implies that no one should claim to your things and in no case to personal information. It is for this reason that people do not trust outsiders to install anything near their property.
Moreover, climatic conditions also play a small role in the spread of broadband. The Russian Federation is located partially in Europe, as well as partially in Asia. For this reason, the climate in Russia is very diverse. Russia is located in 8 climatic zones: Arctic climate, subarctic climate, temperate climate, temperate continental climate, continental climate, sharply continental climate, monsoon climate, subtropical climate. Climatic zones are not allowed to stretch the cable and establish a stable connection. This requires very high costs for special equipment for the production, transportation and installation.

Despite this, the Russian government is making great efforts and providing strong enough financial support to modernize and establish a stable signal. 200,000 kilometers of telecommunications network covers the Russian Federation. At the same time, the speed of broadband communication is at least 10 Mbps for thousands of settlements even located in very difficult places, with a low level of service.
Broadband has made people's lives much easier. Mobile phones, technology have become directly part of our lives. We don’t even think about how people could live earlier without all these technologies. Studies show that our telecommunication society is progressing, not degrading, which can also be a reason for pride.
In Russia, we would like to note a steady signal familiar to Europeans that appeared not so long ago. In the 1990s - 2000s, having your own phone was a sign of a very good life. It would seem that 20-30 years have passed, but now things are completely different. Technology has penetrated every home and even any Russian schoolchild already knows how to connect to the network and which network is worth using and which is not.
We would like to ask a question: what will happen next with our information world? How much can we improve our broadband? And is it even possible that absolutely all the people on the planet will be online? While we do not know this, but time will definitely show...

We analyze broadband and HbbTV evolution (here, the case of Russia) in this blog, in Research Group about Digital Journalism and Marketing and Broadband and in Research Group on Innovative Monetization Systems of Digital Journalism, Marketing and Tourism (SIMPED), from CECABLE,  Escola Universitària Mediterrani of UdG, UPF and Blanquerna-URL, in Twitter (@CECABLEresearch), Google+, in the group of LinkedIn, in the page of LinkedIn, in the group of Facebook, in Instagram (CECABLE), in Pinterest and in this blog. We will go in deep in the DMT-Cable and Broadband Catalonia Congress.