Telecom companies leaving Russia imperils its cell network, Reuters reports
Ericsson and Nokia account for a significant share of the telecommunications equipment market in Russia (Photo:REUTERS/Tatiana Meel)
As global telecommunication giants Nokia and Ericsson exit the Russian market at the end of 2022, Russia’s cell network and coverage could degrade to 1990s levels, Reuters reported on Dec. 21.
According to the report, the departure of telecommunications equipment suppliers Nokia and Ericsson could lead to irreversible damage to the country's cellular networks in the long term.
Industry representatives predict that Russian cellphone users will face slower downloads and uploads, a large number of dropped calls, calls that will not be connected at all, and longer outages as operators lose the ability to update their networks or make software adjustments.
Ericsson and Nokia account for a significant share of the telecommunications equipment market – and about 50% of all base stations in Russia. Both companies also provide critical software that allows different parts of the network to function together.
"We are working (in Russia) towards the end of the year and that's when all exemptions (from sanctions) expire," Ericsson CFO Carl Mellander said.
Nokia also announced it will stop supplying equipment and services to Russia.
Major Russian mobile operators refused to comment on the situation or simply did not answer the Reuters’ requests.
Industry sources expect the severance of ties with foreign companies will set Russian communications back a generation, while the rest of the world moves forward with 5G technology.
"If, presumably, this situation lasts for years, Russian cellular networks in terms of coverage may revert to the state of late 1990s, when their coverage was limited to large cities and the richest suburbs," said Leonid Konik, head of Moscow-based IT outlet ComNews.
According to experts, rural areas will be the first to experience failures once operators remove equipment to prop up urban networks. At the same time, lack of software updates can lead to network failures or expose them to cyberattacks.
Earlier, telecom giant Ericsson announced plans to lay off Russian 400 employees.
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