Ministry: Foreign firms’ leaving not to corrupt connection quality

MOSCOW, Dec 22 (PRIME) -- The foreign vendors’ retreat from Russia will not degrade the quality of mobile connection and the country does not have the lack in telecoms equipment either, a spokesperson for the Digital Development Ministry told PRIME late on Wednesday.

“The operators will be gradually moving to Russian equipment,” the spokesperson said.

The ministry reiterated that the withdrawal of the foreign producers changed the earlier made decisions but did not impact “the whole strategy of transfer of the telecoms companies to national equipment.” The terms of the transfer were adjusted to the current situation, and the operators were offered milder conditions of replacement of base stations.

“The big four operators have already signed forward contracts for shipment of base stations. The amount the operators intend to spend on purchase of Russian equipment exceeds 100 billion rubles,” the spokesperson said.

Reuters reported earlier that when telecoms gear makers Nokia and Ericsson leave Russia at the end of the year, their departure could steadily cripple the country’s mobile networks over the long-term, setting off a deterioration in communication.

(70.5256 rubles – U.S. $1)

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