Finland to stop maintaining poles carrying communication lines with Russia, Kommersant reports

Per Meduza, Finland's energy company Fingrid is notifying Russian telecom operators that it will stop maintaining power line poles carrying fiber-optic cables between the countries, starting in twenty twenty-seven. The cables will be cut and poles dismantled. This follows Russia's halt to electricity supplies to Finland in twenty twenty-two, after which maintaining the poles for telecom use alone became unprofitable for both companies. The poles carry up to thirty percent of all communication lines with Finland, and about sixty to seventy percent of Russia's foreign internet traffic has routed through Finnish infrastructure since twenty twenty-two. Russian operators are seeking alternatives, but experts warn that the shutdown could degrade service quality in Russia's Northwestern region and slow international connections for users across European Russia.

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