Russia blocks roaming services for customers of Lithuanian, European operators

VILNIUS - Russia has decided to temporarily suspend internet and SMS services for customers of Lithuanian and other European operators using roaming in Russia, according to Lithuania's Communications Regulatory Authority (CRA).

Telecommunications company Telia Lietuva said this means that data transfer and text messaging for Telia customers from Lithuania and other countries in the group via Russian networks are currently unavailable. According to the company, voice calls are not affected.

The CRA said this restriction also applies to operators in other European countries that have roaming agreements with Russian operators.

"It is stated that the decision was made to ensure the security of Russia and its citizens, so foreign operators providing roaming services to Lithuanian operators must strictly comply with this restriction. Failure to comply with this restriction may result in legal consequences for foreign operators, including criminal liability," Rita Liuokaityte, the head of the Electronic Communications Regulation Group at the CRA, told BNS, adding that no one has yet contacted the authority regarding roaming disruptions in Russia.

Jaunius Spakauskas, head of corporate communications at Bite Lietuva, another telecommunications company, told BNS that there are currently 2,000 Bite customers in Russia.

"The Russians have cut off mobile data and text messaging for all visitors to the country. Calls are still working in this hopeless place. Our colleagues at Bite Lietuva believe this is how the Russians are trying to shield themselves from drone attacks," he said.

Telia Lietuva said that about 700 of its business and private customers are currently in Russia.

"We regret this decision by Russia and are closely following the situation," the company said.