Digital Twin of Chelyabinsk’s Communication Networks

Chelyabinsk, Russia

About the city. 

Chelyabinsk is a developed city in terms of communications and IT by Russian regional standards, with a firm foundation in education, industry and telecommunications infrastructure. The city is actively implementing digital twins of communications infrastructure to speed up the installation of base stations and reduce residents’ complaints about towers that “spoil the view.”

Goal

The aim of the project is to guarantee residents a high quality of communication, create a favourable environment for communication operators to develop communication infrastructure, and carefully preserve the appearance of the city’s architecture.

Implementation period is 2021–2024.

Fact

Residents of large Russian cities are increasingly expressing dissatisfaction with the quality of mobile communications. Mobile operators point to a shortage of available radio frequencies and growth in mobile internet consumption, which inevitably reduces data transfer speeds.

Previously, the problem of frequency shortage was partially solved by installing more base stations, but now this option is complicated by the lack of imported equipment and the absence of domestic alternatives. 

Solutions

In 2021, the Concept for the Development of Communication Networks was developed. As part of its implementation, the following measures were carried out in 2022 and 2023:

• Optimisation of municipal services procedures: streamlined processes for approvals and getting permits (RNI, servitudes, technical specifications for placement on lighting poles). A working group provided preliminary approval of locations for multifunctional poles (MFPs).
• Design code development: a design code for multifunctional poles was created to ensure compliance with the city’s architectural appearance.
• Creation of a digital model: a digital model of Chelyabinsk’s communication networks was developed by dividing the city into 250 × 250 m sectors and identifying potential locations for multifunctional poles within each sector according to the design code criteria.
• Implementation of an interagency electronic interaction system: the “Digital Twin of the Communication Networks of Chelyabinsk” was introduced as a city-wide geographic information system (GIS). It includes not only data on potential locations for multifunctional poles, but also a unified database required for decision-making regarding placement on municipal land, public institution buildings, road transport and utilities infrastructure.

By 2025, the Digital Twin system includes:

1. Information on 3,000 base stations: photos, ownership, working group approval protocols, and sanitary-epidemiological conclusions.
2. Mapping of zones for each type of MFP and visualisation of potential placement sites. Previously, only the municipal property authority (KUIiZO) had access to free municipal land data; now this functionality has been made available to operators. During working group sessions, such information is shared with telecom and infrastructure operators.
3. Automation of working group activities: the system supports automated coordination of placement sites for MFPs.
   

Additional achievements:

• A simplified document processing mechanism was created for telecom and infrastructure operators to install equipment on municipal property. Positive decisions are now made in more than half of cases, with review times reduced to one week.
• The Digital Twin electronic service enables all operators to work in a unified information field, with instant access to up-to-date data: requirements for MFP placement, design specifications, and zoning maps. This significantly reduces the time operators need to identify locations for base stations.
• Optimisation and automation of site approval processes have shortened the time to obtain permits (RNI) to 30 days, compared to the 6+ months required before.
• By increasing the share of equipment installed on municipal property, operators in Chelyabinsk reduced rental costs by over three times. The share of municipal land and lighting poles used by telecom operators now exceeds 50%, five times higher than in 2021. For comparison: rental costs on private property range from 18,000–20,000 rubles per month, while municipal property costs only 0–5,000 rubles.
• Telecommunication infrastructure improvements have created favourable conditions for IT sector growth, including “Smart City” solutions that enhance quality of life and public safety. MFPs now host not only telecom base stations, but also smart lighting, public safety cameras, Wi-Fi access points, and environmental and road condition sensors.
• A coordinated planning algorithm was established between telecom operators and local authorities. Now, all urban redevelopment, road construction, and landscaping projects include designated spaces for MFPs, which ensures improved mobile coverage in both established areas and new residential developments.
• Compliance with the design code has significantly improved the city’s architectural image.
• Installing MFPs according to set design criteria (distance from social facilities, residential buildings, trees; pole height depending on the city zone—historic centre, residential, industrial) has reduced public dissatisfaction and collective complaints regarding unauthorised base stations several times over.

Team

Deputy Head of the City for Road and Transport Infrastructure Development and Digitalisation

Timeline

In 2025, as part of the All-Russian Scientific and Practical Conference GISOGD 2025, the city hosted guests from various regions of the country and showcased the developed solution.

The Concept for the Development of Communication Networks and the Design Code for Multifunctional Poles (MFPs) are being adopted in Magnitogorsk and other cities of the Chelyabinsk region at the request of the Ministry of Digital Development.

Telecom and infrastructure operators are also extending the concept and design code of multifunctional poles to other cities where they operate.

The implemented practice became a finalist of the III National Award for Contribution to Urban Development.

 

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