Two of the three major Russian MNOs are pushing their LTE networks into new waters, MTS preparing to kick off a €400m network upgrade including NB-IoT and 5G readiness; and VEON (formerly VimpelCom) trialling LTE-LAA. MTS is working with Ericsson, its incumbent vendor, on the upgrade, which will support both the new LTE M2M standards, LTE-M and NB-IoT, and will also enhance its 2G, 3G and LTE networks in the Volga, Northwestern, Siberian, Ural and Southern federal districts. The project will launch by the end of the year and MTS plans to demonstrate 5G at the Russian soccer World Cup in 2018. CTO Andrey Ushatsky said: “In April 2017, in Moscow our companies demonstrated 5G technology with peak data rates up…