FSB will issue permits for satellite communications in Russia

Oneweb system

The government of the Russian Federation approved a decree by which global satellite operators are required to receive a special opinion from the FSB, without which they are not entitled to work in Russia.

Changes have been made to the Rules for the use of satellite communications networks in the country under the jurisdiction of foreign countries . If earlier the Russian subscriber could establish communication directly with the satellite (downlink), now it is prohibited. All traffic from satellite devices of subscribers from Russia, including from foreign subscribers who are roaming in the country, must pass through the gateway of the Russian telecommunications operator - a ground station, which mediates between the satellite and the subscriber's device when receiving a signal from space.

The gateway must be located on the territory of Russia. According to the RBC source , the cost of building the gateway station can be “from a few million to several tens of millions of dollars, depending on the technical implementation of the project.”
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It is easy to guess that the new order is designed to control foreign satellite providers , such as OneWeb and SpaceX. From the very beginning, the FSB expressed its dissatisfaction with the deployment of the global OneWeb network in Russia, which cannot be controlled at all. Especially since Roscosmos helps with the launch of OneWeb satellites. But the contract is so large that Roskosmos does not want to abandon it, despite the opposition of the siloviki. With the adoption of the Rules for the use of satellite communications networks in the country under the jurisdiction of foreign countries, the work of OneWeb in Russia may be difficult.

The Ministry of Communications and Mass Media published a draft of this document in the fall of 2018. The explanatory note indicates the problems that the resolution should solve. Among them is the “threat to national security” caused by the “uncontrolled use of foreign satellite communication systems and Internet access in Russia”.

Today, global satellite systems Inmarsat, Iridium, Globalstar and Thuraya operate legally in Russia.

Experts warn that the adoption of the resolution "will not affect the physical presence of foreign satellites over the territory of Russia and the possibility of receiving and transmitting signals from them."