ABSTRACT

Although the rollout of 5G in Russia has been much anticipated by both businesses and the government, progress in the introduction of the new standard came to a standstill by 2021. Key elite groups in business, the federal bureaucracy, and the security apparatus (the siloviki) have failed to agree on the rules for 5G. Major sticking points in the debate are the distribution of radio spectrum, the operators’ business model, and the degree of import substitution for 5G equipment. This article examines the bargaining among different elite actors over the new mobile communications standard. The foundering introduction of 5G illustrates a more general lack of agreement among Russia’s elites about the future direction of Russia’s economy. Negotiations are complicated by shrinking resources, the relative strengthening of the siloviki, and unrealistic aspirations to economic sovereignty in the digital sphere.

摘要

尽管5G在俄罗斯首次展示由企业和政府一直备受期待，在推出新标准的进展在2021年的业务重点精英群体，联邦官僚机构，安全装置（急转直下西罗维基) 未能就 5G 规则达成一致。争论的主要症结在于无线电频谱的分布、运营商的商业模式以及5G设备的进口替代程度。本文考察了不同精英参与者之间就新移动通信标准进行的讨价还价。5G 的失败说明俄罗斯精英之间普遍缺乏对俄罗斯经济未来方向的共识。由于资源减少、siloviki相对加强以及对数字领域经济主权的不切实际愿望，谈判变得复杂。