Expert says Russian IT industry cannot replace foreign equipment

MOSCOW, Aug 20 (PRIME) – Investment in research and development rather than obstacles to foreign companies are needed to help Russian manufacturers of telecom equipment replace foreign suppliers, General Director of information and research agency Telecom Daily Denis Kuskov told PRIME on Monday.

Media earlier reported that local producers of telecom equipment had suggested the government introduce compulsory marking of imported telecom equipment and a ban of middlemen in the supplies from Huawei, ZTE, Cisco, D-Link, NEC, and others to help imports replacement.

“Such (measures) will produce better or cheaper equipment. We can only make some equipment with the quality of foreign countries. We should invest millions of U.S. dollars in research and development, create our own high-quality equipment, not barriers,” he said.

There are no local analogues for network equipment, the expert said.

Kuskov said that foreign equipment is imported directly and through intermediaries, depending on companies and contracts.

Industry associations and firms also want to get access to customs statistics to reveal “suspicious” transactions.

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