MTS rolls out Russia's first Ericsson Radio Dot System

• In a ground-breaking deployment, Ericsson installed its Radio Dot System to improve indoor coverage inside a 50,000 sq m shopping center in Astrakhan
• Radio Dots were integrated into the operator's live 3G network with Carrier Aggregation functionality
• Better data speeds throughout the building enabled by Radio Dot System, with average speed of 14Mbps

Ericsson (NASDAQ: ERIC) and one of Russia's leading mobile operators Mobile TeleSystems (MTS) have successfully completed the first live deployment of the Ericsson Radio Dot System in a commercial building in Russia. Installed at a 50,000-square meter shopping mall in Astrakhan, the Radio Dot efficiently boosts indoor mobile coverage and capacity. Since the Radio Dots with Carrier Aggregation functionality started running live on MTS' commercial 3G network, MTS subscribers throughout the building are able to enjoy an average data speed of 14 Mbps.

Andrei Ushatskiy, Vice President and Chief Technology and Information Officer, MTS, says: "MTS is continually enhancing and upgrading its networks to deliver the fastest and most consistent mobile services. We are focused on improving customer experience by adopting the latest world-class technologies and pushing the boundaries of innovation. Knowing the importance of delivering not only good in-building coverage but also having good data throughput for our customers, we used this project to fully understand all the benefits of this solution for improving our network performance."

Ericsson Radio Dot System introduces a revolutionary antenna element, or "Dot," which delivers mobile broadband access to users. It is compact, weighing less than 300 grams, and very easy to install. With its convenient size, scalability, and compelling evolution path (synchronized with the macrocell network), the Radio Dot System is designed to enable mobile operators to deliver consistently high performance app coverage in a broad range of medium-to-large enterprise buildings and public venues.

A recent Ericsson ConsumerLab report reveals that the need for indoor coverage has increased and needs to be improved. 9 out of 10 decision-makers agree that indoor data traffic over 3G/4G/LTE has increased compared to 2 years ago.

Jeff Traver, Head of Customer Unit MTS, Ericsson Northern Europe and Central Asia, says: "As users spend a majority of their time indoors, enhancing network coverage and performance indoors is critical to meet consumer demands. Indoor and outdoor networks should work seamlessly together, providing users with high-quality experiences no matter where they are. The Ericsson Radio Dot System empowers mobile and converged operators to quickly deliver high-performance coverage and capacity in any size or type of building for its subscribers and corporate customers."