ALRUD advised VimpelCom on the establishment of 5G Joint Venture

ALRUD advised VimpelCom on the establishment of a joint venture with other federal operators-competitors MegaFon and Rostelecom, aiming at joint development and use of 5G radiofrequencies in Russia.

The agreement on the joint venture was signed at the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum. The joint venture will handle issues related to the provision of radio frequency resources for the creation of 5G mobile networks in Russia.

VimpelCom President Rashid Ismailov commented on the importance of the project: “The total number of operators that use commercial 5G networks has already reached 157 in 62 countries, but our country is not among these countries yet. The introduction of 5G in Russia has started to lag behind the global trend. We are facing serious challenges and need to solve the problem of a shortage in frequencies as well as regulatory, organizational, and technical issues associated with the introduction of the new technology.”

Rostelecom President Mikhail Oseyevsky stated: “The shortage of frequencies that are suitable for creating 5G networks in Russia is one of the biggest constraints. The joint venture’s work should provide an objective and comprehensive picture of the frequency resources available to build 5G networks in Russia. This data will help make more informed decisions both for the state at all levels of regulation and for mobile operators in order to build an effective business based on the new generation networks.”

The ALRUD team that worked on the project under the leadership of Alexander Zharskiy (Partner and Head of Corporate and M&A Practice) and German Zakharov (Partner of Antitrust Practice) included representatives of the Corporate and M&A Practice: Senior Associate Sergey Khanaev, Associate Dina Kravchenko, Senior Attorneys Anna Grosheva and Alexander Shipilov as well as Senior Associate of Antitrust Practice Roman Vedernikov.