Is communication becoming more expensive because of new security requirements?
Telecom cybersecurity is certainly important, and new European guidelines require mobile operators to replace "dangerous" network equipment.
It sounds true, but there is a nuance: it's not just "taking out the old and putting in the new". We are talking about billions of dollars in costs to purchase, dismantle, adapt and delete fully functional equipment. And all this during the war, when the operators are already spending enormous resources on restoring networks after shelling and purchasing generators. In the end, presumably, the subscribers will pay for all these costs.
In a new column, Anatoly Prolenkov explains why, instead of replacing everything one by one, it's better to be more careful: check real threats, delay usable equipment for the duration of the war, and calculate how it will hurt Ukrainians' wallets. Cyber security is important, but it shouldn't make mobile communications a luxury.
Read the full column here.
Ukraine online.