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Make yourself at home, Sputnik: Russian Federation will restrict sales of foreign equipment
In the Russian Federation, it will be impossible to sell satellite telecom equipment for which the government has not allocated frequencies. Internet resources offering such devices are planned to be included in the register of prohibited sites, follows from the package of anti-fraud amendments to legislation ("Anti-Fraud 2.0") adopted by the State Duma in the second and third readings. In April, a six-month ban on the import of such equipment was already introduced, however, according to experts, it is still possible to purchase it on hundreds of Internet sites. According to them, foreign satellite terminals allow circumventing all bans in force in the Russian Federation, are not connected to the system of operational investigative measures and can be used by fraudsters. In addition, such solutions create competition for Russian satellite telecom projects, they add.
What kind of equipment will be banned from sale in Russia
In Russia, the rules for the turnover of equipment for connecting to foreign satellite communication systems are being tightened. The ban will apply to the sale of devices for which the State Radio Frequency Commission has not allocated ranges in the country. Internet resources offering such equipment will be included in the register of prohibited sites. This follows from the package of anti-fraud amendments to the legislation ("Anti-Fraud 2.0") adopted by the State Duma in the second and third readings. Izvestia has reviewed the document.
After the regulations come into force, the sale of illegally imported satellite equipment through websites and online platforms will become impossible, a source familiar with the discussion of the initiative in relevant departments told Izvestia.
— The decree that the government adopted in April only restricts the import of terminals into the country, while the bill introduces a permanent information and legal regime: it prohibits the turnover, that is, the sale, and the placement of advertisements about such equipment as prohibited information. That is, now it will be impossible not only to import, but also to sell," explained Anna Barabash, CEO of Enterprise Legal Solutions.
The new measures are designed to legislate a ban on the sale of equipment that circumvents state regulation of the use of frequencies, the Ministry of Finance noted.
Formally, these solutions relate to a wide range of foreign satellite communications networks: from Globalstar satellite phones (GKRCH withdrew frequencies from its Russian subsidiary GlobalTel at the end of 2023) to BROADBAND terminals of low-orbit Starlink and OneWeb groups, and in the future — Chinese Guowang and Qianfan/Thousand Sails, said Leonid Konik, partner at ComNews Research.. But in reality, they primarily concern the receiving equipment of the American Starlink, he believes.
The Russian Federation already has bans on the import of satellite equipment that is not provided with frequencies — in April of this year, the government established it for such devices for a period of six months. But Starlink devices are sold in Russia by more than a hundred online stores, as well as marketplaces, says Leonid Konik. The RNG did not allocate frequencies for Starlink, so the work of this group in Russia is de jure illegal. In addition, telecom equipment in our country is subject to certification at the national level, and the American company's subscription kits do not have such certificates, the expert pointed out.
"Judging by the fact that the number of sellers of Starlink equipment in Russia has increased significantly in recent years, it has proved difficult to catch those who import or promote it," Leonid Konik believes.
Any foreign satellite terminals that have not received permission to operate on Russian frequencies and do not meet the requirements for use in the country may be subject to restrictions — that is, the issue here is not in specific brands, but in the very principle of turnover of such equipment, added Oleg Yablokov, NTI expert on wireless communications.
Izvestia has sent inquiries to these companies.
What is the danger of illegal satellite communications?
There are two security-related requirements for satellite communication networks in Russia. First, any such network should have at least one interface station within the borders of the Russian Federation and direct all traffic of Russian users through it, Leonid Konik said. Secondly, the equipment of the system of operational investigative measures (SORM) should be installed on the network. In the case of Starlink, both of these requirements are not met.
— The situation with the regulation of the turnover of foreign satellite equipment is a story not just about technological competition, but about the elimination of a systemic legal vacuum in the critical communications infrastructure. The main danger here is not in hardware, but in creating an uncontrolled data transmission channel. Any legal telecom operator in Russia is required to fulfill two key requirements: to pass traffic through SORM and filter prohibited content. A foreign satellite terminal is, in fact, a "backdoor" into the Global Network that ignores both of these requirements," explained Igor Bederov, head of the Information and Analytical Research Department at T.Hunter.
According to him, such devices are an ideal tool for intruders.
"We have come across schemes where fraudulent call centers used satellite channels precisely because they take them out of the jurisdiction of Russian monitoring," he added.
The ban on the sale and instant deletion of ads is a cleansing of the market from dual—use devices, Igor Bederov believes. According to him, the subscriber equipment of foreign systems often operates at frequencies not coordinated with the Russian radio frequency service, and creates interference for legal networks. But more importantly, it cannot be physically integrated into the Russian SORM system at the hardware level. Accordingly, law enforcement agencies are technically unable to obtain legal access to this data, which directly contradicts federal legislation, he added.
— This is a matter of digital sovereignty. Data transmitted from the country's territory must comply with national laws, not the rules of the hub in the United States," the expert told Izvestia.
The ban on posting information on the Internet about sales of foreign satellite telecom equipment for which no frequencies have been allocated in the Russian Federation - that is, the actual ban on its sale on online platforms is largely justified, says Karen Ghazaryan, director of the Internet Research Institute. Information transmitted through such channels is not subject to any restrictions established in the Russian Federation, the equipment is not connected to SORM, it can be used by fraudsters and other cybercriminals, he listed.
In addition, the country is now beginning to develop its own low-orbit satellite groups, so measures to support domestic projects look like a logical step on the part of the state, the expert added.
Goods subject to the new restrictions (including Starlink terminals) are hidden from Ozon and are not available for order, according to a representative of the marketplace.
— Ozon always complies with the legal requirements regarding the sale of electronic equipment. Product cards undergo a multi-stage verification process: before entering the site, the content is checked using machine learning (ML) models and manually. When violations are detected, we hide the cards and conduct an additional check of the entire range of the category," the company noted.
Wildberries noted that the company operates in strict accordance with the requirements of current legislation and complies with all government restrictions on certain categories of goods.
"The specified equipment is not represented on the showcase of the marketplace," Izvestia was informed in the marketplace.
In Russia, there are plans to create similar domestic satellite communication systems — for example, the Rassvet space Internet access system is being developed by Bureau 1440. For domestic projects, tougher conditions for the sale of imported satellite equipment may be an additional advantage, Oleg Yablokov believes. It is easier for our satellite systems and developers to compete when the market is cleared of unregulated imports, he explained.
In 2026-2027, Bureau 1440 will focus on deploying a satellite constellation, and it will be able to start providing full-fledged services no earlier than in two years, Leonid Konik believes. According to him, the orbital grouping will include up to 292 active spacecraft. It is comparable in scale to the OneWeb system, which has 648 satellites, but the receiving equipment is more massive and expensive than that of Starlink. The expert noted that the receiving equipment for OneWeb and Bureau 1440 remains more bulky and expensive compared to Starlink. At the same time, both OneWeb and Bureau 1440 are focused primarily on the public and corporate sectors, as well as telecom operators, and not on the mass private user.
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