Investigation into 5G advertising begins in Russia

The Russian Federal Antimonopoly Service (FAS) is preparing to examine advertising materials from telecom operators that mention 5G technology. This issue will be discussed at a meeting of the FAS expert council, as fifth-generation networks have not yet been widely launched for commercial use in the country. This is reported by Ixbt.com .

Experts believe that using the term 5G in service names and advertising campaigns may raise concerns regarding fair competition. Advertising technologies that are not yet operational in practice leads to consumer misconceptions about the services provided.

The FAS will analyze not only 5G advertisements but also a number of marketing campaigns. In particular, offers from VimpelCom and MegaFon, as well as mobile number portability (MNP) programs from VimpelCom and T2, will be under scrutiny.

Furthermore, the council will address issues related to the increasing number of rejections when porting numbers between operators, as well as concerns regarding call duration and waiting times before an automated answering system is activated.

It was previously reported that 5G development in Russia is facing limitations. The new standard on allocated frequencies does not increase speed, but merely serves to display the 5G icon on smartphone screens.