In most areas of Moscow, 5G networks are no faster than LTE

Moscow’s 5G network does not yet offer clear advantages over LTE – in most areas the speeds of fifth-generation networks do not exceed those of fourth-generation networks. Reporters conducted experiments”Izvestia”, testing the networks of all four major operators in the center of the capital and on routes popular with tourists.

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Some measurements suggest that 5G connection speeds are even slower than LTE; in some cases, speeds above 250 Mbit/s can be achieved, but this is uncommon. MTS’s 5G network shows an incoming channel speed of 284 Mbit/s on Nikolskaya Street, and a speed close to GUM of 1.1 Gbit/s. In Red Square, operators T2 and MTS switched user equipment to 4G, although a second operator on the map promised “superfast” internet here. MegaFon showed less than 10 Mbit/s in 5G mode, and Beeline offered no network access at all in the Megabitus app.

MTS on Lubyanka Square only offers 4G; T2, Beeline and MegaFon are shown to be connected to 5G, but at speeds of 136, 50 and 47 Mbit/s respectively. Near the Sportivnaya metro station and Luzhniki MCC in the third traffic ring area, only MTS (11 to 57 Mbit/s) and Beeline (53 Mbit/s) operate 5G networks; MegaFon and T2 only display available LTE networks. No operator’s 5G network could be detected in the subway. Experts interviewed by Izvestia explained that the main problem now with modern LTE networks for operating fifth-generation networks is network congestion: therefore, at the same point, different operators can show different 5G speeds.