Nokia CEO Pekka Lundmark echoed that sentiment in a interview: "Our exit will be complete. "This will allow us to organise modern production of telecoms equipment in Russia," he said, without naming the operators or producers. Government programs to promote Russian equipment have helped telecoms operators become less reliant on Nokia and Ericsson over the past several years and Russian producers have increased their market share this year to 25.2% from 11.6% in 2021. Russian telecom operators stockpiled foreign-made parts in February and March ahead of sanctions, two of the industry sources said, but inventory will drop after Nokia and Ericsson pull the plug Dec. 31. Consolidation between Russian operators at the behest of the government might also allow them to share equipment and resources to make the networks last longer, industry sources added.

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