Our Network 2020 programme recently sent a team to Moscow to discuss how we could help Russian operators deliver interconnected all-IP communications services to their customers. We met with the country’s main operators Beeline, MegaFon, MTS and Tele2, as well as The Ministry of Telecom and Mass Communications of the Russian Federation,and are now working in collaboration to accelerate the deployment of interoperable all-IP services such as Voice-over-LTE (VoLTE), Voice-over-WiFi (VoWifi), Video-over-LTE (ViLTE) and Rich Communications Services (RCS).
We also set up a dedicated working group to address key areas such as legislation and regulation, as well as technical elements such as interconnection, a unified profile for all-IP services and the availability of native IP devices. The GSMA works with operators from across the globe, allowing us to share insights on how other markets have handled these issues. It was a highly successful trip, particularly as the Russian authorities expressed readiness to support the deployment of all-IP services and even provided a timeline for the approval of changes by early 2016.
It’s an important step for the Russian government and operators to want to work together to achieve this and one that promises to deliver superior calling experiences. IP-based services will deliver higher quality calls, faster connection speeds and real-time messaging to customers across the country. Indeed, 4G LTE has seen the fastest deployment and consumer adoption rate of any mobile telecoms technology, serving as the foundation for all-IP mobile applications. To date, it has been launched by 432 operators in 146 countries with a potential reach of 45 per cent of the world’s population. According to GSMA Intelligence, between 2015 and 2020 there will be an estimated investment of $1.4 trillion by mobile operators in 4G infrastructure.
Operators are in a unique position to deliver an enhanced customer experience, and through interconnection with other operators, they can also offer IP communications with truly global reach and scale. We look forward to keeping you updated on progress in Russia over the coming months.
To find out more about the GSMA’s Network 2020 programme, go to www.gsma.com/network2020.