Russia obliges foreign satellite Internet operators to obtain work permits from the FSB

According to the representative of the ministry, the threat to national security is posed by "uncontrolled

use of foreign satellite communication systems and Internet access in Russia.”

The adoption of the resolution will lead to the fact thatForeign Internet or communications operators will be required to obtain permission to work in the FSB. Usually this procedure takes from 12 to 15 months, the head of the Russian operator AltegroSky Sergey Pekhterev told the agency.

New rules will hit firstprojects like oneweb. The company intends to provide full coverage of the Earth with satellite Internet by 2027. For this, it will have to launch about 900 satellites into low orbit. Investors of the project include Virgin Richard Branson Holding, Qualcomm, AirBus, the Japanese investment company SoftBank and Coca-Cola.

The project was opposed by the FSB - in the departmentbelieve that the OneWeb system may have an intelligence character, therefore, oppose its appearance. In addition, the startup will become a monopolist in providing the Internet to some hard-to-reach regions of Russia, for example, the High North.