Chip is out of business: vendors do not have enough components for telecom equipment
The AI boom in the world has led to a shortage of components for telecom equipment, vendors and operators told Izvestia. In particular, there are not enough specialized processors, memory for data storage systems, and lasers for online Internet installations, market participants say. The cost of some components has increased, and their delivery time has increased. Whether the situation will affect the pace of construction and modernization of networks and whether it will affect the quality of communication is discussed in the Izvestia article.
What challenges are telecom vendors facing?
The demand for electronic components from developers of neural networks and AI services has made it more difficult for manufacturers of telecommunications equipment to purchase the necessary components. Sources close to the two vendors told Izvestia about this. Due to the AI boom, components are being washed out of the market, and telecom vendors lack them, they claim.
This is a really acute problem for the industry, Dmitry Lakontsev, CEO of telecommunications equipment manufacturer Irteya, confirmed. According to him, if earlier the delivery time was three to four months, now it can exceed six months.
The global shortage of components is further exacerbated by the active purchase of chips for server platforms and high-performance electronics by technology companies for artificial intelligence tasks, said Oleg Yablokov, NTI expert on wireless communications. According to him, the increased demand from the AI industry reduces the availability of specialized processors, network controllers and other components needed by telecom operators.
In the world, primarily in the USA and China, data centers for artificial intelligence systems are being built at an accelerated pace, said Leonid Konik, a partner at ComNews Research. According to him, this has already led to a global shortage of memory chips, both high—speed, necessary for AI servers, and traditional, due to the fact that manufacturers and their production capacities are the same for any memory chips.
"Many AI data centers are distributed facilities, so they require a large amount of data transmission equipment using DWDM laser technology, and there is a shortage of lasers in the world," he added. — All this leads to a shortage of servers and telecom equipment, as well as to higher prices for them.
Oleg Yablokov added that equipment tied to imported and highly specialized electronics is becoming more expensive: base stations, transport and switching equipment for backbone networks and other solutions. For operators, this means an increase in capital expenditures: the investment programs formed a year ago do not meet current price conditions. As a result, they are forced to reconsider the timing of the modernization of the network infrastructure.
— We conclude contracts with operators at a fixed cost, but our costs are increasing. Due to the rise in the cost of components, the cost of equipment has already increased by an average of 20%," said Dmitry Lakontsev.
Izvestia sent requests to the Ministry of Finance and the Ministry of Industry and Trade.
What problems has the growing interest in AI created?
Despite the strengthening of the ruble, the cost of equipment is not decreasing, said Alkhas Mirzabekov, CEO of the operator of the ESC. According to him, it is premature to talk about a shortage of components — most likely, we are talking about a shortage of individual components. Most likely, it's about the hardware and software complexes used in cloud storage - there may indeed be delays in their deliveries. He also stressed that the cost of such solutions changes dynamically depending on market demand.
— In the future, this may negatively affect the modernization and construction of networks. The lack of equipment will not allow operators to fully develop, which will affect the quality of communication," the expert said.
In his opinion, the lack of equipment is particularly sensitive for large operators, which can affect the cost of services they provide to corporate clients. This is due to the fact that contracts with businesses set out requirements for the quality of communications, network bandwidth and the level of information security.
— We have felt the price increase. This directly affects the payback of investment cases, but we are working to adapt our supply strategy in order to minimize this impact," Vimpelcom said.
Since the end of last year, the cost of equipment has increased by 20-30%, and prices have almost doubled over the year, said Alexey Zabrodin, Technical Director of RTK Data Center.
As Leonid Konik clarified, this situation has led to the fact that some Russian companies that won tenders for the supply of equipment in the summer and autumn of 2025 are now unable to fulfill their obligations at a fixed price. In his opinion, this may lead to the fact that large companies will begin to abandon the construction and expansion of their own corporate data centers and switch to using commercial data centers. In this case, the resources — servers and data storage systems — will be shared by several customers, which will reduce costs.
At the same time, it is impossible to distribute data transmission equipment in this way: it is required by each operator separately, the expert emphasized. Therefore, the development of communication networks may slow down.
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