
Ericsson and Nokia halt Russia business. Is Huawei next?
The Finnish telecom company announced on Tuesday that staying in Russia would “not be possible” given President Vladimir Putin’s ongoing assault on Ukraine.
“Over the last weeks we have suspended deliveries, stopped new business and are moving our limited R&D activities out of Russia,” Nokia said in a statement. “We can now announce we will exit the Russian market.”
That leaves China’s Huawei as the only top 3 global provider of 5G networks still active in the country.
This task could extend to its next generation internet. Nokia and Ericsson are two of the world’s biggest providers of 5G mobile networks — the ultra-fast internet that will underpin a raft of future technologies.
In November, Nokia said it was entering into a joint venture with Yadro, a Russian data storage developer, to build 4G and 5G telecoms base stations in Russia. That project has now been scrapped, a Nokia spokesperson confirmed to CNN Business.
Recent reports suggest Huawei — which supplies 5G networks to Russia’s largest mobile operator MTS — could follow its European rivals in halting new business.
But Huawei, which continues to fight for survival after US sanctions severely curtailed its access to key technology, has stayed silent so far, except to call for peace in Ukraine.
Asked about sanctions on Russia at an earnings conference in March, Huawei Rotating Chairman Guo Ping said: “Just like every one of you, we hope to see a ceasefire and end of the war as soon as possible. And we believe that wise leadership will soon put this crisis to an end, and restore normal life.”
— CNN’s Sharon Browne-Peter, Chris Liakos and Michelle Toh contributed reporting.