With the Russian economy under intense pressure as a result of the Ukraine war and its ripple effects, the country’s top four operators will be even more focused than most on cost efficiency. All four – MTS, Rostelecom, MegaFon and Vimpelcom/Beeline – have now joined a new joint venture, called New Digital Solutions, which has been set up to devise a framework for freeing up more spectrum for 5G and use it on an efficient, potentially shared basis. Only Tele2 remains outside. In particular, the venture aims to reverse a government decision to keep large parts of the 3.5 GHz band, occupied by federal agencies, back from 5G, by working with incumbents to agreee spectrum sharing and refarming frameworks.…