The Moscow city government is seeking to create a consortium to develop 5G technology and has entered into discussions with mobile operators about participation in the potential project, PRIME news agency reports, citing business daily Kommersant. ‘5G technology requires a multiple increase in the number of base stations and a completely different approach to network planning from mobile market participants that will engage bigger investment,’ the capital’s IT Department Director Artyom Yermolayev was quoted as saying, adding: ‘It means that operators will have to build another large infrastructure, which is not easy. That’s why we are thinking of merging efforts to keep the 5G project attractive for investment.’ According to a source, the department will propose the ‘creation of a single infrastructure, on the basis of which all [operators] could develop their own network,’ with it aiming to reach an agreement on the matter with cellcos by the end of 2017.