MOSCOW (Reuters) – Sweden’s Ericsson is auditing a site in Russia’s exclave region of Kaliningrad that it could use to build telecom base stations, the Kommersant daily reported on Wednesday, citing unnamed telecom industry sources.
Russia has said it will extend telecoms operators’ licences beyond 2023 for LTE (long-term evolution) networks on the condition that they start building networks using only Russian equipment, part of a wider push by Moscow to promote domestic technology and IT services.
Kommersant said Ericsson was conducting a technological audit of a site owned by GS Group, a multi-industry holding company.
Ericsson is considering building its own plant or finding a Russian partner, Kommersant’s sources said.
Ericsson did not immediately respond for comment. GS Group declined to comment.
Kommersant cited Ericsson as saying that it has constant dialogue with authorities in many countries, including Russia, regarding 5G and other technologies.
Finland-based Nokia last month said it was partnering with Russia’s YADRO, a developer and producer of servers and storage systems, to build 4G and 5G base stations.
(Reporting by Alexander Marrow; editing by Jason Neely)
