As announced earlier this week, two of the largest Internet providers worldwide, Cogent Communications and Lumen (former CenturyLink), pulled out of Russia.
Cogent was the first U.S.-based internet carrier to withdraw from Russia as per their announcement on Friday, 4th of March 2022, with Lumen’s exit following on Tuesday 8th of March 2022.
As per an official statement published to Lumen’s website, “We decided to disconnect the network due to increased security risk inside Russia. We have not yet experienced network disruptions, but given the increasingly uncertain environment and the heightened risk of state action, we took this move to ensure the security of our and our customers’ networks, as well as the ongoing integrity of the global Internet.”
Cogent announced the decision of immediate Internet service termination to its customers in Russia via e-mail:
In light of the unwarranted and unprovoked invasion of Ukraine, Cogent is terminating all of your services effective at 5 PM GMT on March 4, 2022. The economic sanctions put in place as a result of the invasion and the increasingly uncertain security situation make it impossible for Cogent to continue to provide you with service. All Cogent-provided ports and IP Address space will be reclaimed as of the termination date. For any colocation customers, your equipment will be powered off and kept in the rack for you to collect. If not collected within thirty days, the equipment will be removed from the rack and stored. For any utility computing customers, you will not have access to your servers after the termination of service. The servers will be disconnected and kept in storage by Cogent for an indeterminate period.
About Cogent Communications
Cogent Communications is a multinational internet service provider based in the United States. Cogent’s primary services consist of Internet access and data transport, offered on a fiber optic, IP data-only network, along with colocation in data centers.
About Lumen
Lumen Technologies, Inc. (formerly CenturyLink) is an American telecommunications company headquartered in Monroe, Louisiana, that offers communications, network services, security, cloud solutions, voice, and managed services. The company is a member of the S&P 500 index and the Fortune 500.
