In Russia, more than half of the internet cables have exceeded their guaranteed service life
More than 50% of the communication lines through which Internet traffic is transmitted in Russia have already exceeded their guaranteed service life of 25 years and need to be replaced. This is stated in the updated draft of the Russian Federation’s Telecommunications Industry Development Strategy through 2035, prepared by the Ministry of Digital Development.
The ministry itself stated that it plans to modernize the backbone networks only after a deterioration in their performance is confirmed or the fiber-optic cables “no longer meet the requirements of new equipment.” The Ministry of Digital Development, Communications, and Mass Media assured that the condition of the networks is currently being monitored.
Over time, fiber-optic cables physically degrade, which can reduce bandwidth and signal transmission range, noted a manager at one of the telecommunications companies. A specialist in telecommunications network construction added that this creates a risk of interruptions in internet access. Problems may also arise due to increased signal loss or damage to the cable sheath, clarified Oleg Yablokov, an NTI expert on wireless communications.
According to him, network wear and tear complicates efforts to increase their bandwidth and raises the risk of failures. If there is no available backup route in a given direction, a failure could cause delays in data transmission.
According to estimates by the analytical firm J’son & Partners, over 400,000 km of cable with a service life exceeding 20 years will need to be replaced in Russia between 2020 and 2030. “At a cost of about 1 million rubles per kilometer, that amounts to approximately 400 billion rubles,” Yablokov noted. He added that about 40,000 km of cable needs to be replaced each year.
The total length of backbone fiber-optic communication lines (FOCLs) in Russia exceeds 1.46 million km, according to Leonid Konik, a partner at ComNews Research. The majority of these networks were built in the early 2000s.
At the same time, over the course of 10 years—from 2015 to 2025—the volume of internet traffic in Russia increased tenfold, reaching 218.8 exabytes, according to data from the Ministry of Digital Development. Due to the increased load on existing fiber-optic lines, it is necessary to expand network capacity and build new lines, noted Denis Kuskov, CEO of TelecomDaily.
To achieve this, he said, Russia needs to develop its own fiber-optic production. Currently, the only facility in the country producing fiber is the Saransk-based “Optical Fiber Systems” (OVS) plant. Dozens of other companies manufacture cable from pre-made fiber.
At the same time, Russian products cannot compete with their Chinese counterparts, which account for up to 75% of the local market.
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