With Nokia also exiting Russia, Huawei remains the only major international telecom equipment provider in the country
Ericsson has announced its official exit from Russia due to the country’s invasion of Ukraine. The vendor suspended its business in Russia indefinitely in April of this year, but last week told its Russian unit that it will be shut down and employees will be fired by the end of 2022.
A spokesperson confirmed the move to Mobile World Live, explaining that the company “will gradually wind down business activities in Russia,” adding that it intends to “provide financial and well-being support” for the 400 employees located in Russia.
Ericsson is estimated to have a 20% share of the Russian telecom equipment market, and MTS and Tele2 are two known Russian operators with major Ericsson contracts prior to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. In fact, two years ago, Ericsson signed a deal with MTS to help it prepare its network for 5G, making the vendor the single largest supplier of mobile network infrastructure to MTS. Russian operators will now almost certainly face equipment shortages.
To make matter worse for these operators, Nokia, which announced its exit from Russia in April 2022, told Mobile World Live recently that this development is “right on-track” and expects to shut down its Russian operations by the end of the year.
“By the end of the year, the vast majority of our employees in Russia will have moved on from Nokia, and we have vacated all of our offices,” said the Nokia spokesperson. “We will retain a formal presence in the country until the legal closure is completed.”
Huawei is now the only major international telecom equipment vendor with plans to continue operating in Russia. Additionally, the state-owned vendor Rostec is also expected to produce domestic equipment to support mobile operators that had previously relied on international suppliers.
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