Nokia And Ericsson – Two biggest telecom equipment makers – ready to exit Russia at the end of this year. Their departure could lead to continuous disruption of the country’s mobile network for a long period of time, disrupting day-to-day communication for citizens.
According to Reuters, senior telecom executives and industry sources say everyday Russian users will experience slow internet and call drops and won’t be able to make calls. That is not it; Network outages could extend as operators struggle to patch software, and a low spare parts supply will only add to the trouble.
People in Russia may soon be unable to make calls either
Nokia and Ericsson account for about 50 percent of the telecommunications equipment market in Russia, and the two companies are responsible for everything in the country from base stations, antennas and hardware that provide digital signals to consumers.
after leaving HuaweiThe departure of Nokia and Ericsson could further disrupt the daily lives of citizens in Russia, which have already been hit by sanctions imposed by other countries following the attacks on Russia. ukraineIt is becoming difficult for them to even make a phone call.
Nokia and Ericsson exit will push Russia back to 1990s
If the situation persists for a long time, Russia’s cellular connectivity will push the country back to the late 90s, when coverage used to be limited to metropolitan and affluent suburbs, Leonid Konik of Moscow-based IT publication CommonNews told Reuters.
Furthermore, cutting ties with foreign equipment makers would leave Russian Telecom missing out on 4G networks as the world moves toward 5G.
Experts note that rural areas of the country will be the first to be affected, as telecom operators will remove equipment placed in those areas to serve urban areas. In the meantime, no software updates will put the public at risk of cyber attacks and frequent outages.
Government policies may slow the death of the state’s telecom infrastructure
Reports say that local telecom operators stocked up on foreign devices earlier this year, but the situation is expected to worsen as soon as two companies – Nokia and Ericsson – exit the market, i.e. on December 31.
The Russian government had recently introduced indigenous equipment, reducing dependence on foreign equipment manufacturers. In the last year, the market share of locally manufactured equipment has almost doubled, from 11.6 per cent in 2021 to 25.2 per cent this year.
An alliance between telecom operators in the country would allow them to share resources which could make the network last for a while. But, software updates will continue to be a hurdle for operators.
Sources have told Reuters that both Nokia and Ericsson will stop providing software patches next year, creating a major hurdle for local telecom operators to keep their networks updated.
According to Reuters, senior telecom executives and industry sources say everyday Russian users will experience slow internet and call drops and won’t be able to make calls. That is not it; Network outages could extend as operators struggle to patch software, and a low spare parts supply will only add to the trouble.
People in Russia may soon be unable to make calls either
Nokia and Ericsson account for about 50 percent of the telecommunications equipment market in Russia, and the two companies are responsible for everything in the country from base stations, antennas and hardware that provide digital signals to consumers.
after leaving HuaweiThe departure of Nokia and Ericsson could further disrupt the daily lives of citizens in Russia, which have already been hit by sanctions imposed by other countries following the attacks on Russia. ukraineIt is becoming difficult for them to even make a phone call.
Nokia and Ericsson exit will push Russia back to 1990s
If the situation persists for a long time, Russia’s cellular connectivity will push the country back to the late 90s, when coverage used to be limited to metropolitan and affluent suburbs, Leonid Konik of Moscow-based IT publication CommonNews told Reuters.
Furthermore, cutting ties with foreign equipment makers would leave Russian Telecom missing out on 4G networks as the world moves toward 5G.
Experts note that rural areas of the country will be the first to be affected, as telecom operators will remove equipment placed in those areas to serve urban areas. In the meantime, no software updates will put the public at risk of cyber attacks and frequent outages.
Government policies may slow the death of the state’s telecom infrastructure
Reports say that local telecom operators stocked up on foreign devices earlier this year, but the situation is expected to worsen as soon as two companies – Nokia and Ericsson – exit the market, i.e. on December 31.
The Russian government had recently introduced indigenous equipment, reducing dependence on foreign equipment manufacturers. In the last year, the market share of locally manufactured equipment has almost doubled, from 11.6 per cent in 2021 to 25.2 per cent this year.
An alliance between telecom operators in the country would allow them to share resources which could make the network last for a while. But, software updates will continue to be a hurdle for operators.
Sources have told Reuters that both Nokia and Ericsson will stop providing software patches next year, creating a major hurdle for local telecom operators to keep their networks updated.