Moscow, Russia – Mobile TeleSystems PJSC (“MTS”, NYSE: MBT; MOEX: MTSS), leading telecommunications provider in Russia and the CIS, and MGTS (MOEX: MGTS), one of the largest operators of local wire communications in Europe, today presented new strategy of technological development for 2017-2020 in the Moscow region.

MTS and MGTS will strengthen joint cooperation in development of mobile and fixed internet access. MTS plans to increase the number of base stations connected to GPON from 25% to 40-45%. This decision will allow MTS to use the resources of mobile infrastructure on maximum as well as will improve quality and stability of customer services.

MGTS intends to launch mass adoption of XG-PON (10GPON) in its network in 2017. This will allow MGTS to become a digital platform for mobile operators at transition to 5G. First 10GPON test zones will appear in 2017-2018 at the most loaded parts of the network. The 10GPON transition is planned to be completed by 2020.

The companies will continue to cooperate in testing of 5G standard. This year MTS will conduct testing of pilot zones of the “fifth generation” standard, which will be launched during the 2018 FIFA World Cup. In April this year, MGTS will test interoperability of Nokia’s 10GPON and 5G-technologies. MTS and Nokia have already successfully tested 5G technologies during which the speed of mobile data transmission reached 4.5 Gbps, which is by times higher than the upper speed limits of existing mobile and fixed internet access standards.

“Our cooperation in the network development in the Moscow region gives us plenty of advantages in improving speed and quality of infrastructure as well as in optimizing capital expenditures the final beneficiaries of which are our customers who receive high speed internet”, noted Igor Egorov, Director of Moscow region, MTS. “In relation to 5G technology development, MGTS’s fixed channels of 10GPON standard can become a basis for rapid construction of a new generation mobile network in the Moscow region”, added Igor Egorov.

“We are standing on the cusp of global fundamental changes. The 5G standard will give momentum to evolve robo mobiles and gadgets supporting AR and VR as well as to the whole IoT market and Ì2M decisions. New technologies will lead to multiple increases in traffic that will become a new challenge for telecommunications operators and will require raising network capacity manyfold. Today we are working on the decision that will provide MGTS with an opportunity to retain a position of the technological leader for decades and to lay basis for the soonest adoption of innovative services in the Moscow region”, commented Andrey Ershov, CEO, MGTS.

GPON and XG-PON technologies interoperability tests were launched on Huawei equipment in MGTS suitability testing center. The testing has positive results: both GPON and XG-PON standards coexist on the same distribution network. Maximum downstream speed achieved during testing was 8.5 Gbps.

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For further information, please contact in Moscow:

Joshua B. Tulgan
Director, Department of Corporate Finance and Investor Relations
Mobile TeleSystems PJSC
Tel: +7 495 223 2025
E-mail: ir@mts.ru