Rostelecom completes repairs of submarine cable in Baltic Sea

MOSCOW. Feb 13 (Interfax) - PJSC Rostelecom , Russia's telecommunications operator, has completed repairs of the Baltika submarine fiber-optic cable from Kingisepp in the Leningrad region to Kaliningrad within Finland's exclusive economic zone in the Baltic Sea, Rostelecom said in a statement.

"The operations of a communication cable connecting the Kaliningrad region with the Russian Federation's main digital network have been restored in full," it said.

The submarine cable was earlier damaged supposedly by a foreign vessel's anchor due to a violation of navigation rules, Rostelecom said. The incident happened within Finland's exclusive economic zone in the northern part of the Baltic Sea. The damaged sections of the cable were located 40 kilometers apart from each other.

The Russian rescue vessel Sivuch started the repairs on February 8. The work was done under a contract with Rostelecom's Bulat company using Russian-made materials and equipment, it said.

The damage of the Baltika submarine fiber-optic cable did not affect the operations of the telecommunication infrastructure and services provided to customers in the Kaliningrad region, as communication was maintained via backup channels, Rostelecom said.