The number of telecom operators in Russia decreased by 17 percent

As of July 2025, the number of telecom operators in Russia fell by 17 percent in annual terms, to just over seven thousand companies, that is, every sixth provider was liquidated. Kommersant reports this with reference to data from Roskomnadzor.

The number of licenses held by such companies decreased by the same percentage, to more than 21 thousand. The department indicated that the licenses were terminated due to the fact that the companies did not provide communication services under them.

At the same time, a representative of Roskomnadzor assured that the trend is based on the departure from the market of so-called “paper networks,” that is, those that exist only in the form of formalized documents (licenses, frequency permits, approved projects).

Executive Director of the Association of Communications Companies Yaroslav Dubovikov explained that the regulator, together with the Federal Security Service (FSB), has recently been actively working to analyze the effectiveness of participants in the communications market.

In the past, Roskomnadzor did not immediately seek to revoke licenses from an operator if it did not begin providing services within the two years required by law. However, now that the cost of obtaining a license has increased more than a hundredfold, they have become a scarce resource.

Senior manager of the TeDo business consulting practice, Ekaterina Litvinova, confirmed that the fight against “paper networks” affects the number of liquidations, but also small providers who are unable to cope with rising costs are leaving the market.