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A new draft of Russia’s 2035 telecommunications strategy could give the Russian military significant control over civilian mobile networks. Under the proposed legislation, the military would have the ability to disable these networks in the event of a state emergency.

The draft bill introduces a mechanism for sharing mobile spectrum between the military, state security services, and commercial operators. This shared spectrum would be managed by a third-party entity, potentially the Russian censorship agency, Roskomnadzor.

This arrangement could benefit mobile operators by enhancing service quality and increasing capacity for customers. However, it would also give the military greater influence over public networks, including monitoring and service provisioning.

Additionally, the telecoms strategy would grant the military the power to take control of civilian networks in a state of emergency, allowing them to shut down the networks entirely if necessary.

The Russian military’s involvement in civilian mobile spectrum is already complex, particularly regarding 5G. Many of the prime 5G spectrum bands, including the 3.4–3.8GHz ‘golden band’, are partly occupied by state entities such as the Federal Protective Service, the Federal Air Transport Agency, the Ministry of Defense, and Roskosmos.

To address this issue, Russian mobile operators established a joint venture in 2017, named New Digital Solutions, to collaborate on 5G spectrum strategy and research. However, challenges and limitations remain, hindering the development of 5G networks.

The new telecoms strategy aims to address these challenges by reserving the 3.4–3.8GHz band for state usage and directing commercial operators towards alternative frequencies.

In addition to the mid-band spectrum, Russian operators also face obstacles in accessing the valuable 700MHz low-band spectrum for 4G and 5G services. This spectrum is currently occupied by broadcasters, who are reluctant to migrate their services and demand high prices from mobile operators for doing so.

The government is considering ordering broadcasters to vacate the spectrum. However, operators are hesitant to pay the broadcasters’ requested amounts.

The proposed telecoms strategy signals a significant shift in the power dynamics of Russia’s telecommunications sector, granting the military greater control over civilian mobile networks and potentially impacting 5G development in the country.

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