Finnish grid operator Fingrid has notified Russian telecom operators that it will stop servicing the power transmission pylons carrying cross-border fiber-optic communication lines, with the lease agreement expiring and not being renewed around the turn of 2026/2027. The decision follows the 2022 halt of Russian electricity exports to Finland, which made continued maintenance of the infrastructure for telecom use alone economically unviable. Russian sources report that the cables will be cut and the supports dismantled; Fingrid has confirmed the move involves the fiber connection (describing it as one cable) and states it expects no significant impact on telecommunications between the two countries.
According to Russian industry estimates cited by Kommersant, Finland has carried roughly 60–70% of Russia’s international internet traffic since 2022, with fiber lines on the power pylons accounting for up to 30% of the communication links specifically between the countries. Russian operators are already negotiating alternative routes with Finnish private telecom firms and point to existing backups via Belarus, the Baltic states, and Baltic Sea submarine cables. While no complete disruption to foreign traffic is anticipated, reduced redundancy could lead to higher latency or degraded quality for international access, particularly in northwestern Russia, if capacity is not promptly shifted.
