Mobile operators, facing a narrowing pool of mobile equipment suppliers as scrutiny of China-based Huawei intensifies, may soon be able to source network gear from stated-owned company Rostec in Russia.

Rostec started developing 5G equipment and is looking for international partners to initiate production in Russia.

A statement said its equipment will comply with 3GPP standards and that the company already offers “competitive” 4G LTE gear.

Victor Kladov, Rostec’s director for international cooperation and regional policy, said: “We are making developments in the field of 5G and are interested in partnerships with foreign manufacturers, such as from India and China. We are striving to create conditions for beneficial development and production of advance products in Russia.”

Established in 2007, Rostec describes itself as a company “facilitating the development, manufacture and export of high-tech industrial products for both civil and military purposes.”

Last November it was reported that Russian operators Rostelecom and MegaFon were in talks with Rostec to form a 5G consortium, aimed at using domestic equipment and infrastructure to reduce the cost of network deployment. However, there has been no word on whether those plans developed.

Rostec is not alone in setting ambitious goals to manufacture network equipment for the next-generation mobile technology.

Viettel, the largest mobile operator in Vietnam, reportedly is working on its own core 5G technology, with the aim to develop 80 per cent of the tech at home by 2020. Local media say it has invested millions of dollars to develop 5G chips and devices.

With restrictions on Huawei and ZTE imposed by some countries, including the US, Australia and Japan, mobile operators’ infrastructure options in certain markets are limited to Ericsson, Nokia and much smaller Samsung’s network division.