Finland to Cease Internet Cable Services for Russia from 2027

Finland will cease servicing the power line supports that carry fiber-optic communication lines to Russia starting in 2027. These routes account for up to 30% of all communication lines between the two countries, forcing Russian operators to reroute international internet traffic to alternative channels. The Finnish energy company Fingrid has already notified Russian operators of the service termination. The fiber-optic lines on these supports are planned to be dismantled. The reason for this decision is the cessation of electricity transmission between Russia and Finland after 2022, which has made maintaining the infrastructure economically unfeasible for telecommunications operators. It is estimated that after 2022, about 60-70% of Russia's foreign internet traffic passes through Finland. Russian operators are negotiating with Finnish telecommunications companies for alternative routes, and there are also backup channels through other countries. For the European part of Russia, the Finnish route is not the only option; international traffic can also pass through Belarus, the Baltic states, and undersea cable systems in the Baltic Sea.