MTS Achieves World’s First Virtualized 5G Uplink Aggregation

January 11, 2022

MOSCOW, Russia — Mobile TeleSystems Public Joint Stock Company («MTS» or «the Company») (NYSE: MBT; MOEX: MTSS), Russia’s largest mobile operator and a leading provider of media and digital services, announces the world’s first successful test of 5G uplink carrier aggregation leveraging a virtualized 5G radio access network (vRAN). Solutions based on vRAN technology are widely expected to be deployed in 5G networks across the world including as a foundational component of open radio access networks (OpenRAN).

The test was carried out by a team of MTS Electronics technical specialists at the MTS 5G Center OpenRAN lab at Moscow’s VDNKh exposition center and park. During the demonstration, MTS achieved the world’s first uplink carrier aggregation across both low-frequency (<3 GHz) and mid-frequency (<6GHz) bands (UL CA 5G FDD+TDD) using fully virtualized radio infrastructure and commercial RAN equipment.

The vRAN solution consisted of software developed by Amarisoft, handling signal processing on standard server hardware, combined with a terminal powered by the MediaTek Dimensity 1200 commercial chipset.

Alexey Maslyankin, Director of the MTS RAN Department, commented: «Virtualizing network infrastructure on top of commercial off-the-shelf hardware is a strategic priority for the global telecom industry. Since 2012, leading mobile network operators from around the world — including MTS — have been able to virtualize nearly all network functions except for radio access. This test has important implications considering we have successfully removed one of the key technology barriers on the path toward commercializing vRAN: carrier aggregation, which has now been demonstrated in this configuration for the first time. Virtualizing radio access is a prerequisite for OpenRAN development, for the transformation of mobile network operators into cloud-based providers, as well as for the future roll out of edge computing infrastructure.»