Mintsifra denies that the departure of Nokia and Ericsson will affect the quality of mobile communications in Russia

The quality of mobile communications in Russia will not suffer due to the departure of telecommunications equipment manufacturers Ericsson and Nokia. This was reported to TASS by the press service of the Ministry of Digital Development. Previously, that the exit of the two companies could negatively affect mobile networks in the long term, reported Reuters agency. Operators will allocate more than 100 billion rubles for the purchase of Russian equipment, the ministry also said.

The departure of the companies forced the Ministry of Digital Transformation to adjust the timing of the transition of telecommunications companies to domestic equipment, but did not affect the overall strategy, the ministry noted.

“There is no shortage of telecom equipment, the departure of companies will not affect the quality of communication. Operators will gradually switch to Russian equipment,” the Ministry of Digital Development reports. According to the ministry, operators have been offered softer conditions for replacing base stations, and the Big Four have already signed forward contracts for their supply.

“The amount that the operators will allocate for the purchase of Russian equipment is more than 100 billion rubles. This will allow organizing modern production of telecom equipment in Russia. Deliveries of equipment will begin in 2025,” the Ministry of Digital Development said.

Operators in Russia are losing the ability to update or fix software due to the departure of Nokia and Ericsson and are fighting for dwindling production parts, reported Reuters. As a result, mobile phone users in Russia are likely to experience slower downloads and no connection during calls. Companies, among other things, provide important software that allows different parts of the network to function in an integrated manner.

Earlier, Nokia and Ericsson announced that they would finally leave the Russian market and stop software updates by the beginning of 2023.

Maria Fedotova