Russia faces Internet communication crisis due to equipment shortag

Russia faces Internet communication crisis due to equipment shortage The Internet industry has been greatly affected by the withdrawal of Western equipment suppliers from the Russian market due to the Russian-Ukrainian war, which no longer sells communications equipment components to Russian entities, and the first significant service disruptions, which could start as early as this summer. The Information Technology Committee of the Russian Union of Industrialists and Entrepreneurs (RSPP) has warned of an imminent large-scale disruption of Internet services in Russia due to the lack of available telecommunications equipment. In order to give an overview of the current difficulties, the Committee has prepared a report document detailing the actual challenges faced, as well as recommendations to specifically mitigate them. According to the Russian media, which had access to the document, the current situation is so dire that the Commission stressed that the reserves of telecom operators' equipment will last only six more months. As a result of the Russian-Ukrainian war, Western equipment suppliers are gradually withdrawing from the Russian market, no longer selling communications equipment parts to Russian entities, and the Internet industry has been greatly affected, with the first noticeable service disruptions that could begin as early as this summer. It is worth mentioning that the prices of equipment that is still available for purchase have increased by about 40%, and if the ruble continues to depreciate, the economic problems of network service providers in Russia will become even more serious. As a result of the above, even if the largest Russian telecom operator reduces its investment plans, financial expenses will still grow from 390 billion rubles in 2021 to 450 billion rubles in 2022. In order to solve these problems or at least mitigate their impact, RSPP has made the following recommendations to the Russian Ministry of Digital Development. To suspend contributions to the Universal Communications Service Fund until the end of 2022; Reduce the cost of radio spectrum by 50%; Reducing the property tax rate to zero and exempting employees in the communications industry from taxation. However, Kommersant reports that the Russian Ministry of Digital Development is unlikely to take any radical measures to solve the problems of the Internet industry. Another source also said that the Russian Ministry of Digital Development has already rejected these proposals, saying that successful and good business performance is not the result of state support, but the good decisions of the companies themselves. Mass exodus of IT specialists In addition to equipment shortages, the mass exodus of IT technicians from Russia is also a headache for IT companies, according to Kaspersky co-founder and former CEO Natalya Kasperskaya, who said that the exodus of IT specialists has been considerable since the end of February. Last week, Yevgeny Prigozhin, the owner of a major Internet research firm, publicly called on the government to take action to stop the brain drain by imposing fines and travel restrictions on people who resign without cause, but the Ministry of Digital Development has refused to create a plan to block the flow of people to foreign companies. Instead, the Russian government stressed the need for companies to offer competitive working conditions to make the domestic job market more attractive to both locals and foreigners. The RSPP document also addresses the issue of brain drain, warning that the Internet industry could lose up to 30% of its highly qualified specialists over the next few months. According to the latest data from the Russian Association of Electronic Communications, 50,000 to 70,000 IT specialists have left Russia since February, and another 100,000 may leave by April.