GSMA THRIVE EURASIA: Investments in 5G were forecast to dominate operator infrastructure spend in the coming years across Russia and the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS), with GSMA Intelligence expecting uptake of the new network technology to reach 13 per cent of connections by 2025.

The GSMA Intelligence Mobile Economy Russia & CIS 2020, released on the opening day of Thrive Eurasia, predicts there will be 52 million connections using 5G across the region by 2025 as operators dedicate the majority of infrastructure spending on enabling the technology.

Across the region, operators are expected to make $25 billion-worth of investments with 57 per cent of this dedicated to enabling 5G.

Although 5G is tipped to gain a foothold, 4G will remain dominant with 65 per cent of connections expected to use the older technology by the end of the forecast period.

By 2025, smartphone adoption across the region is expected to hit 81 per cent due to increased availability of lower cost handsets.

The CIS alone, which comprises a number of countries in close proximity to Russia with historical ties to the country, is expected to have almost 330 million new IoT connections by the end of GSMA Intelligence’s forecast, driven in part by an increase in smart home applications.

Although optimistic in its predictions, the research group also highlighted constraints on operators being allocated the spectrum needed to fully benefit from 5G risking what it referred to as “the region’s digital vision and the potential of IoT”.