Scandinavian manufacturers Nokia and Ericsson have stopped supplying Russian operators with products following trade sanctions due to the invasion of Ukraine. EE Times Europe reported that Russian operator MTS chose the suppliers for the bulk of its 5G infrastructure equipment while MegaFon had a large, multi-year backhaul deal with Ericsson. With 5G on the precipice of rollout in Russia, sanctions will seriously delay the deployment of the next-generation network for citizens.
Ericsson CEO Borje Ekholm said in a statement, “We are now urgently reviewing how our business might be affected by the events and the sanctions imposed. We are suspending all deliveries to Russia while we conduct our analysis.”
Similarly, Nokia’s CEO, Pekka Lundmark, said, ”Nokia stands for human rights, international cooperation, and the rule of law.” He added that the company is donating over $1,088,000 to UNICEF to help with humanitarian work in Ukraine.
According to the EE Times, the Russian operators may turn to Huawei for their 5G fix. However, due to U.S. sanctions, the Chinese manufacturers (Huawei and ZTE) won’t have access to sophisticated semiconductors needed for 5G equipment. Another option is to increase production at home, keeping in mind that local firms have limited manufacturing expertise of 4G and 5G equipment.
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