Protey, a Russian telecom equipment developer, installed 4G mobile network systems in Afghanistan last year, a development reported by the Vedomosti business newspaper on Thursday. The systems are designed to provide mobile services for an estimated 10 million people.
Protey has been subject to U.S. sanctions since last year, designated for operating in an economic sector identified as supporting Russia’s military-industrial base.
This work occurred amidst evolving relations between Moscow and the Taliban, which assumed power in Afghanistan in 2021 following the withdrawal of U.S. forces. On April 17, Russia's Supreme Court removed the Taliban from its list of designated terrorist organisations, where it had been since 2003. This action by Russia's Supreme Court precedes formal recognition of the Taliban government.
The installation of a 4G core network in Afghanistan marks Protey's first export of its technology, according to Vedomosti. This core network was developed in collaboration with Russia's state telecom provider Rostelecom and is presented as a domestic solution intended to replace foreign hardware and software.
Protey's activity in Afghanistan follows the departures of major telecom suppliers such as Ericsson and Nokia, and the scaling back of operations by Chinese firms, including Huawei and ZTE, since the Taliban's return.
Rostelecom Vice President Alesya Mamchur stated that the Russian-made core network was installed in 2024 across four of Afghanistan's 34 provinces. The specific regions were not named. Mamchur indicated that the equipment is expected to facilitate mobile service for up to 10 million of Afghanistan's approximately 40 million residents.
Since the Supreme Court's decision, Russian and Taliban officials have discussed transitioning trade payments to national currencies, constructing railway lines, and rebuilding a Soviet-built highway connecting Kabul with northern Afghanistan and Central Asia.
Russia has signalled its willingness to either use or return U.S.-supplied nuclear fuel stored at the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant, with the IAEA offering to mediate the issue.
Four people were killed and several others injured as Kyiv came under a wave of missile and drone strikes overnight, in what follows reports of Ukrainian drone attacks on military facilities deep inside Russia.
The Russian Prosecutor General’s Office has formally declared the activities of the British Council "undesirable" in the country, saying that the organization actively supports the LGBT movement and carries out projects aimed at discrediting Russia’s domestic and foreign policies.
The Russian Ministry of Finance has approved 4.5 trillion rubles for a new national project dedicated to space exploration, Roscosmos Director General Dmitry Bakanov announced today.
Vladimir Putin thanked the pope for supporting peace efforts but accused Ukraine of fueling war, calling Kyiv's actions “terrorism,” according to the Kremlin.
India’s central bank made a bigger-than-expected interest rate cut, lowering the repo rate by half a percent to 5.5%, the lowest level in three years.
Twenty-two crew members were safely rescued after a cargo ship carrying 3,000 vehicles, including 800 electric cars, caught fire in the North Pacific near Alaska’s Aleutian Islands.
More than 40 suspects have been arrested in a massive international police operation targeting a drug gang accused of smuggling cocaine into Europe using high-speed “narco-boats.”
South Korean President Lee Jae-myung and US President Donald Trump spoke by phone Friday, their first conversation since Lee’s election earlier this week.
North Korea has successfully raised a 5,000-ton naval destroyer that capsized during a failed launch in May.
As peace talks progress, voices from Yerevan, Tbilisi, and Baku reveal hopes, concerns, and expectations for a future shaped by trade, trust, and generational change in the South Caucasus.
A bridge collapse in the Vygonichsky district of Russia’s Bryansk region, near the Ukrainian border, caused a train derailment and a traffic accident early Sunday, killing at least seven people and leaving 30 injured, according to emergency services.
Ukraine’s Security Service (SBU) has confirmed it carried out a third targeted attack against the Crimean Bridge, also known as the Kerch Bridge, early Tuesday morning, marking a new escalation in the ongoing conflict with Russia.
A strong 6.3 magnitude earthquake shook Japan’s Hokkaido prefecture early Monday, causing no reported injuries or damage, and no tsunami warning was issued, officials confirmed.
Peace talks between Russia and Ukraine ended abruptly in Istanbul on Monday, lasting just over an hour amid mounting tensions following a major Ukrainian drone strike on Russian strategic bombers and renewed pressure from the U.S. for a breakthrough.
David Beckham is set to receive a knighthood in the upcoming king’s birthday honours list, recognising his outstanding contributions to football and his charitable work.
]The third annual AI Film Festival opened Thursday night in New York, offering a glimpse into what artificial intelligence can now do on the big screen.
A local dive team has solved a nearly 140-year-old maritime mystery by identifying the wreck of the SS Nantes off the coast of Devon.
India’s central bank made a bigger-than-expected interest rate cut, lowering the repo rate by half a percent to 5.5%, the lowest level in three years.
Twenty-two crew members were safely rescued after a cargo ship carrying 3,000 vehicles, including 800 electric cars, caught fire in the North Pacific near Alaska’s Aleutian Islands.
India’s central bank made a bigger-than-expected interest rate cut, lowering the repo rate by half a percent to 5.5%, the lowest level in three years.
Twenty-two crew members were safely rescued after a cargo ship carrying 3,000 vehicles, including 800 electric cars, caught fire in the North Pacific near Alaska’s Aleutian Islands.
More than 40 suspects have been arrested in a massive international police operation targeting a drug gang accused of smuggling cocaine into Europe using high-speed “narco-boats.”
South Korean President Lee Jae-myung and US President Donald Trump spoke by phone Friday, their first conversation since Lee’s election earlier this week.
North Korea has successfully raised a 5,000-ton naval destroyer that capsized during a failed launch in May.
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