Internet backbone provider shuts off service in Russia

Illustration by Alex Castro / The Verge

The Washington Post reported that Cogent Communications has cut ties with Russian customers because of the invasion of Ukraine. The US-based company is one of the world's largest internet backbone providers and serves customers in 50 countries, including a number of high-profile Russian companies.

In a letter to Russian customers obtained by The Post, Cogent cited economic sanctions and the uncertain security situation as the reasons for its total shutdown in the country. The European Union banned Russian state-backed media outlets, and Cogent terminated its contracts with Russian customers.

Some of the company's most prominent Russian customers include the state-backed telecom giant Rostelecom, Russian search engine Yandex, and two of Russia's largest mobile carriers.

Madory notes that unplugging Russia from Cogent's global network will result in slower connections, but won't completely sever Russians from the internet. The traffic from Cogent's former customers will fall back on other providers, potentially causing network congestion. There is no indication as to whether other internet providers will also suspend services in Russia.

WTF Cogent? Cutting Russians off from internet access cuts them from off from sources of independent news and the ability to organize anti-war protests. Don't do Putin's dirty work for him. https://t.co/uqbgOFYWX9

— Eva (@evacide) March 4, 2022

Digital rights activists argue that cutting Russians off from internet access could prevent them from accessing information about the invasion.

Cogent doesn't want to keep Russian civilians from accessing, and the company isn't intended to hurt anyone, according to the CEO. The goal of Cogent is to prevent the Russian government from using the company's networks for cyberattacks.

The Russian government has made it more difficult for Russians to get news. On Friday, it passed a new law that banned fake news and blocked access to Facebook. The country threatened to block Wikipedia over false messages about the war in Ukraine.