New Business Directions
eHealth MTS
\\\\ MTS 120/80
In 2019, MTS, in collaboration with the National Medical Research Center for Cardiology of the Ministry of Health of the Russian Federation, developed and launched in December of the same year the MTS 120/80 heart care application.
The solution allows you to enter your systolic and diastolic pressure into the system, simply by photographing the screen of the tonometer. Thanks to a specially trained neural network, the MTS 120/80 recognizes measurements on the digital tonometer display and helps the user quickly fill out a form for monitoring pressure indicators. Then, if necessary, the user can send details of the blood pressure records to the attending physician. The report is generated in a way which is convenient for the doctor.
Based on the data entered by the user on their daily pressure records, MTS 120/80 creates a graph that presents the data in a visual form. If monitoring detects a deviation in the values from modern blood pressure norms, the application will bring this to the user’s attention.
MTS 120/80 allows you to calculate the “age” of your heart, simplify the monitoring of medication intake by setting up reminders for the intake, and remotely consult with a cardiologist using the SmartMed telemedicine service.
\\\\ SmartMed
In 2019, the SmartMed service – a joint telemedicine project by MTS and a network of MEDSI clinics – continued to actively develop. The service combines the possibilities of online consultations with practicing doctors, making an appointment with an internal appointment, calling a doctor to your home, and safely storing a patient’s medical history.
The results of 2019 are as follows.
- From January to December, the number of online consultations has grown more than 20 times. Stable monthly growth testifies to the interest of users in telemedicine services. 33% of the total number of consultations were repeated calls, which suggests that users see the convenience and benefit of the service.
- Compared to 2018, the number of application downloads increased by 80%. The total number of installations exceeded 500 thousand.
- In April 2019, a web version was launched on smartmed.pro. The service has become available to users who prefer smartphones to PCs.
- The number of niche specialties in the service has increased. In SmartMed, consultations of endocrinologists, neurologists, gynecologists, urologists, allergologists and immunologists, surgeons, cardiologists, senologists and oncologists, ENTs, traumatologists, pulmonologists, etc. have become available. Focused specialists are particularly in demand in regions where it is not always possible to get an appointment with such a doctor.
- By December 2019, the number of active users per month increased by 6.6 times compared to January of the same year.
- Thanks to subscriptions to unlimited online consultations, using SmartMed has become not only convenient, but also very profitable. The cost of a subscription for three months is only 1,190 rubles, and 2,500 rubles for a year, while a consultation without a subscription costs 550 rubles.
- The opportunity to make an appointment in person at MEDSI clinics has become available to residents of St. Petersburg. St. Petersburg doctors have also begun to offer consultations online, and thus service users from the northern capital gained the opportunity to continue treatment in the clinic after an online consultation or to be observed online by the same doctor after an in-person appointment.
- At the beginning of 2019, only every 22nd patient of MEDSI clinics in Moscow and St. Petersburg was registered through the SmartMed application for an in-person appointment. But at the end of the year, every fifth patient used the service to book an appointment.
- The introduction of the remote (telemedicine) rehabilitation functionality allowed patients from the regions observed by doctors from Moscow or St. Petersburg to undergo rehabilitation procedures from home and significantly reduced the costs that these patients previously incurred when they had to stay in the capitals for the rehabilitation period.
- More than once in 2019, telemedicine doctors helped to take the necessary measures in time and save the health and life of patients who came to them through SmartMed. For example, a therapist helped a user to provide independent first aid in a case of heavy bleeding through video communication. In another case, a pediatrician insisted on an emergency call for an ambulance and as a result prevented a life-threatening situation for a one-and-a-half-year-old child.
MTS StartUp Hub Center
In 2019, the MTS StartUp Hub launched several new business directions, turning into a multi-functional MTS tool for working with young technology companies. In addition to the corporate accelerator, which was launched in 2018, the structure of the MTS StartUp Hub Center now includes: the MTS venture fund, international scouting, and the 5G Center.
In 2019, the corporate accelerator conducted two recruiting campaigns, in which more than 2,300 applications from technological projects were considered. Over the two years of the accelerator, 58 projects have been accelerated, 46 of them launched pilot projects with MTS and the solutions of 15 startups were implemented in MTS business units. The business clients were 12 units of the MTS Group.
In the first half of 2019, the MTS StartUp Hub launched its international offices in three locations: Germany, Israel, and Southeast Asia. International scouts are looking for technology projects for the accelerator, 5G MTS Center, and venture capital fund. In 2019, agreements were signed with the Indian Enterprise Development Institute, Singapore Enterprise and Invest India, which help MTS look for innovation in foreign markets. In the Asia region, Sistema Asia also became a partner of MTS StartUp Hub.
In October 2019, the 5G MTS Center – a platform for the development and testing of digital solutions and devices operating on the 5G network – was launched in Technograd, VDNKh. The 5G Center combines next-generation network utilization scenarios with case study development equipment. About 100 technology companies applied for residency at the Center, of which nine startups, including 2 foreign ones, were selected by the MTS StartUp Hub expert team. 5G Center participants receive expert and technological support from MTS and project partners. The creators of the best 5G solutions can receive development grants.
Based on the Containerum startup from the MTS accelerator, a cloud service was developed in August 2019 for #CloudMTS clients that can double the launch of IT solutions. The new service allowed our cloud customers to reduce costs associated with the development and introduction of new IT solutions to the market by at least 40%. The service made it possible to use the cloud space more economically: it will now be possible to host two to three times more applications on one virtual server.
Smart University
The Smart University educational platform is designed for online classes and focuses on the market of additional school education and private tutoring, which are estimated in Russia alone at 130 billion and 111 billion rubles, respectively.
Lessons at Smart University are led by teachers remotely using a video call through an iOS and Android application or a service website. Communicating with the teacher, the student performs tasks in the framework of a specially created interactive textbook.
At the introductory lesson, a Smart University teacher determines the current level of the user’s knowledge, and then the training program is built for each student individually using special adaptive algorithms that can improve the quality of training by up to 1.5 times. The program also allows you to take intermediate tests during the entire course and monitor the progress of studies using the built-in statistics system. Progress tracking is also available for schoolchildren’s parents.
The first area of Smart University was preparation for the Unified State Exam in English. In 2019, the team expanded its product line, which allowed the number of registered users to increase by 3.9 times compared to 2018. Today, Smart University offers the following products:
- general English courses for adults (including a corporate segment);
- courses in mathematics, Russian and English for students in grades 5–11;
- preparation for the Basic State Exam and Unified State Exam in mathematics, Russian and English for high school students.
In 2019, additions were made to the ecosystem of training formats with such formats as webinars for mass preparation for exams, English speaking clubs in mini-groups of up to 8 people, and self study in the form of homework, tests and simulators. A variety of learning formats helps maximize student achievement with different educational needs and habits.
In 2019, the effectiveness of teaching methods at Smart University was confirmed by an independent study of the Kazan Federal University (KFU), which showed an increase in student achievement up to 60%.
In addition to KFU, the Peoples’ Friendship University of Russia (RUDN) and the Skolkovo Academy became partners of Smart University in 2019.
Gambit Esports and WASD.TV
\\\\ Launch of the WASD.TV Streaming Platform
The interactive media platform WASD.TV is a streaming service, on the basis of which MTS develops various solutions in the field of gaming, professional e-sports, and multimedia content. In March 2019, the platform was transferred to open beta testing. The service is available on PC and on devices with Android OS and iOs. The key eSports partner of the platform is the MTS-owned organization Gambit Esports. As a part of the partnership, club players participate in the creation of their own platform content and broadcast live on WASD.TV.
In 2019, the service began to regularly hold competitions for leading broadcasts – the League of Streamers. The third season of competition between streamers is recognized as the most expansive league of the year. More than 7 thousand people took part in it, and the number of broadcasts exceeded 25 thousand.
\\\\ Synergy of WASD.TV with Gambit Esports
Over 2 thousand people participated in the e-sports competition for the popular games Dota 2 and League of Legends in the online format from Gambit Esports and WASD.TV. This unique format at the junction of the technological capabilities of the platform and the teaching experience of Gambit trainers has allowed young talents from all over our country to prove themselves.
Gambit Esports players themselves regularly streamed on WASD.TV, became participants in the advertising campaign of the service, and also participated in testing the platform and discussing product aspects.
\\\\ Gambit Esports
Players of the MTS-owned e-sports organization Gambit Esports were selected for the World Championships in New York, both singles and doubles. Our sportspeople showed the best result among all sportspeople from the CIS, earning a total of 200 thousand dollars in prize money.
The Gambit Youngsters youth team won their first offline tournament – MSI Gaming Arena 2019 in New York, where they earned 30 thousand dollars in prize money. In the wake of this success, our team, consisting of sportspeople with an average age of 18, entered the top 30 best teams in the world according to the portal hltv.org, becoming the first CS:GO youth team to reach this target.
In 2019, the Dota2 Gambit Esports team took part in two Major tournaments: in Moscow (Epicenter) and Chinese Chengdu (MDL Chengdu Major). In the 2018/2019 season, e-sportspeople showed strong results and were one step away from entering The International 2019, the world’s largest e-sports tournament with a prize pool of 34 million dollars.
In 2019, Gambit Esports got a team for Apex Legends, a new EA Sports game that quickly gained popularity. Gambit Esports players immediately showed serious results, taking 11th place among 80 participating teams at the first international offline tournament held in Krakow, Poland.