Rostelecom looks to the old masters for new 5G zone

hermitage

Rostelecom is planning a 5G trial at Russia’s State Hermitage Museum, which boasts artwork from the likes of Rembrandt, Gaugin, Rafael and Van Gogh.

The operator is working with Ericsson on establishing a 5G trial zone to explore virtual reality, haptic technology, which recreates the feeling of touch remotely, and robotics.

The telcos and museum, which is located in St Petersburg, have signed a memorandum of understanding and expect the zone to be set up in the first half of next year.

Ericsson will deliver the solutions for the trial zone as well as work on implementation and integration of the technology. The trials will run on the 3.5GHz band.

Mikhail Oseevskiy, President of Rostelecom, said: “We own the necessary network infrastructure, radio frequencies and have experience from similar projects.

With every successful deployment we gain important insights, which puts us at the forefront of this technological evolution.”

Last month, Rostelecom said it was setting up a 5G “pilot zone” with Nokia in Moscow, where it will explore how the technology will affect self-driving cars and construction.

Sebastian Tolstoy, Head of Ericsson in Russia, said: “The introduction of innovative digital solutions is a top priority in Russia and the partnership between Ericsson, Rostelecom, and the Hermitage is an important step in this direction.”