Grigorenko announced the access of more than 90% of the Russian population to 4G communications

More than 90% of the Russian population has access to 4G mobile communications, but the country needs to switch to 5G for the development of digital technologies. This was announced on June 6 by Dmitry Grigorenko, Deputy Prime Minister and Chief of Staff of the Government of the Russian Federation.

"Given our geography and low population density per square kilometer, this is a very good indicator. Society has a huge demand for stable and fast Internet. For this, of course, it is necessary to switch from LTE to 5G," Grigorenko said at the Global Digital Forum in Nizhny Novgorod.

He stressed that modern technologies such as unmanned vehicles require higher data transfer speeds and stable connectivity, which can only be provided by the 5G standard.

Communication from space: via satellite, it will be possible to make calls from a regular smartphone

Who needs it and how the technology will work

On April 4, it was reported that the Ministry of Finance is considering holding an auction for the right to use 5G frequencies in the second half of 2025. It was clarified that the 3.4–3.8 GHz frequencies optimal from the point of view of communications specialists in the Russian Federation are already occupied by communications facilities of other structures, including power ones, and 5G in higher bands cannot provide wide coverage of populated areas.