Deputy CEO of the system integrator, which carries out projects

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The cable connecting the islands of Kunashir and Iturup was damaged on October 7, 2023. As of October 11, 2023, local residents temporarily have no access to mobile communications, the Internet, banking and electronic services. Communication is only available by landline phone. A vessel will arrive at the scene of the accident in the near future to carry out restoration work.

"On the Kuril Islands, law belarus whatsapp resource enforcement agencies are establishing the culprit of the accident. For now, we have temporarily organized a satellite communication channel. We plan to eliminate the problem in the near future," a representative of the press service of PJSC Rostelecom told a ComNews correspondent.

Representatives of the press service of the Ministry of Digital Development, Communications and Mass Media did not provide the ComNews correspondent with additional comments on the situation.

for the creation, operation and development of satellite communication systems, JSC VISAT-TEL, Valentin Anpilogov, pondered what could have caused the cable to be damaged: "There could be many reasons - from poor-quality initial installation or the actions of fishing vessels to a terrorist attack. This will ultimately be determined by specialists. Perhaps it is a matter of service life. Rumors about the virtually unlimited service life of fiber-optic communication lines are simply a legend. For example, fiber-optic communication lines laid in the North on suspensions, according to the operating organization, last up to 10 years if they are constantly serviced. This information was unexpectedly announced several years ago at the "Communications in the Russian North" conference. But there is no information on marine fiber-optic communication lines."

Shareholder of the AltegroSky group of companies (satellite communications operator) Sergey Pekhterev noted that each operator should have a backup resource in case of an accident: "The issue of backup is basic for a serious communications operator. How to do this is already a question of technology and budget. The fact that there was no backup channel is a claim to the local operator. In principle, in the Kuril Islands region there are several satellite communications networks whose technologies do not require constant payment for an empty channel and can take on traffic at the time of an accident."

The cable damage in the Sakhalin Region is not the first accident for Rostelecom in Russia in 2023. In the Astrakhan Region, law enforcement agencies have recorded nine cases of theft of copper cable communications since the beginning of June. Because of this, communication services were absent for more than 700 subscribers, including 68 enterprises in the region.

Schools, kindergartens, hospitals, social and emergency services were temporarily left without Internet and telephone communications. "The attackers are opening hatches, using heavy vehicles, climbing onto supports and cutting copper off them. In order to prevent theft of communication lines in the region, we are strengthening security measures," said Sergey Ovsyannikov, director of the Astrakhan branch of PJSC Rostelecom.

Rostelecom cooperates with law enforcement agencies on each incident. A press service representative told a ComNews correspondent that the company's specialists are gradually decommissioning and routinely disposing of copper cables that remain on communication lines in some regions.

Valentin Anpilogov believes that there is simply not enough funding to replace old copper cables: "Of course, we are always for everything good and new. But this new thing requires money. If you walk around Astrakhan, you can see with the naked eye that there is not enough funding for the city. You can impose a tourist tax on fishermen. Then either there will be a lot of fish again, or money in the regional budget."