Ericsson indefinitely suspending activities in Russia
MOSCOW. April 11 (Interfax) - Sweden's Ericsson is indefinitely suspending its activities in Russia in connection with the new sanctions imposed by the European Union and is sending its employees on paid leave, the telecommunications company said in a statement.
"In late February, Ericsson suspended all deliveries to customers in Russia. In the light of recent events and of European Union sanctions, the company will now suspend its affected business with customers in Russia indefinitely. Ericsson is engaging with customers and partners regarding the indefinite suspension of the affected business. The priority is to focus on the safety and wellbeing of Ericsson employees in Russia, and they will be placed on paid leave," the statement said.
The EU introduced a new package of sanctions against Russia on Friday. In particular, the EU has decided to restrict the export of quantum computers and advanced semiconductors, high-end electronics, software, sensitive machinery, and transportation equipment. A ban has also been introduced on supplies of technologies "intended for civilian non-publicly available electronic communications networks which are not the property of an entity that is publicly controlled or with over 50% public ownership" to Russia.
Ericsson said on February 28 that it was suspending deliveries to customers in Russia and was studying the sanctions against Russia.
Ericsson is a supplier of telecom equipment for the largest Russian providers. MTS, for example, came to an agreement with Ericsson in October 2021 on strategic cooperation in creating dedicated 5G-ready networks for Russian industrial enterprises. MTS said at the time that it had implemented more than 15 pilot projects with Ericsson in that sphere.
Tele2 expanded in March 2021 an agreement concluded with Ericsson in 2019 and within the framework of new agreements for until 2023 was planning to introduce 50,000 new 4G/3G/2G base stations supporting 5G technology (5G-ready) in 27 regions of Russia.