Ericsson has opened the doors of a new 5G Innovation Hub in Moscow, giving Russian service providers the opportunity to test innovations on live 5G and IoT networks.

The facility, located at Ericsson’s head office in Moscow’s Metropolis Business Center, had a grand opening on May 21, 2019 and features a testing laboratory, training center and a demo studio with 5G and IoT capabilities.

At the testing laboratory, service providers will be able to trial a host of solutions and technologies adapted to Russian standards. These include testing 5G use cases on a live network; securing certification of 5G technologies and software for the Russian market; testing 5G consumer devices on the network in conjunction with service providers and vendors; and piloting advanced technologies and solutions including Fixed Wireless Access, spectrum sharing, Private LTE networks and remote control of autonomous vehicles.

Sebastian Tolstoy, Head of Ericsson in Russia, says that 5G will be an important driver of Russia’s Digital Economy National Program and that the innovation hub will play a significant role in the successful introduction of 5G in the country.

“Ericsson has been investing in specialist training and development of the Russian telecommunications market for nearly 140 years,” Tolstoy says. “The new Ericsson Innovation Hub integrates technologies proven by leading operators and local expertise and will support successful 5G deployment in Russia.”

Ericsson Academy, a training center co-located at the Innovation Hub, will be an important platform for developing local 5G competence. More than 1,000 specialists from Russian service providers and students are expected to be trained here each year. Employees of mobile operators will participate in training on equipment that is deployed or will be installed into Russian mobile networks.

The testing laboratory will feature multiple generations of mobile network technology including the latest 5G network elements, and OSS/BSS solutions for operational efficiency. The aim is to support a broad range of use cases as well as provide a platform to demonstrate, live or remotely, the latest cutting-edge technology.