Ukraine asks European telecom regulators to cut off Russian operators from roaming in EU countries
Chairman of the National Commission for the State Regulation of Communications and Informatization Oleksandr Zhyvotovsky appealed to Chair of the Body of European Regulators for Electronic Communications (BEREC) Annemarie Sipkes with a request to disconnect Russian operators from roaming services in the EU countries. More about Russia roaming in EU below.
“In order to protect Ukraine, Europe and the entire democratic world and hold Russia accountable, I urge you, as Chair of BEREC, to take action, together with the national regulators of EU Member States, to block Russian roamers and roaming services for Russian telecommunications service providers within the framework of the European Union,” the National Commission said in a message in the official Telegram channel of the State Service for Special Communications and Information Protection.
He said that the international community is already rebuffing the aggressor by imposing economic sanctions. However, in the digital age, high-tech and information and communication technologies are perhaps the best answer to tanks and missiles.
“The Armed Forces of Ukraine and its citizens courageously defend Ukraine and peace in Europe to the end. Ukraine is a great European country, and the war in Ukraine means a war in Europe. Our country is fighting for all Europeans and we need strong support from the EU,” Zhyvotovsky said. russia roaming in eu
There are 5 national mobile network operators active in Russia now:
- MegaFon (МегаФон)
- MTSÂ (MTC)
- Beeline (Билайн)
- Tele2 (Теле2), owned and controlled by state provider Rostelecom
- Yota (Йота), joint venture with MegaFon
At the end of 2018 Megafon had 86,000 4G/LTE base stations, MTS 61,000, Tele2 47,000 and Beeline 43,000 to give you an idea.
Meanwhile Russia’s MVNOs market remains relatively small. It’s set to reach 6.8 million subscribers in total by the end of 2017, which were less than 2% of all mobile phone users. This has changed in 2018 when first MVNOs started mostly on the Tele2 network. The most accessible are given out by banks: Tinkoff Mobile, SberMobile and VTB Mobile, but there are others more, that are harder to get hold of.
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