Swedish-owned Tele2 Russia is said to have asked Igor Shchyogolev, Russia's Minister of Communications and Mass Media for permission to join a new LTE research consortium. In January, MTS, Vimpelcom, MegaFon and fixed line operator Rostelecom were given approval by the Russian telecoms regulator to prepare plans for spectrum in the 2.5 GHz band. The main task of the group is to come forward with a plan to convert spectrum used by the military for LTE use. Article