The Latvian government committed on Wednesday (18 October) to help Ukraine restore and develop its telecom infrastructures, support it in meeting the EU telecom acquis, and help it to participate in EU and international programmes.
In mid-2022, according to the European Commission, Latvia’s Fibre-to-the-Premises coverage was 91% compared to the 56% EU average. At the EU level, the country is considered a frontrunner in the fields of research and development and industrial applications of 5G.
Latvia is looking to capitalise on this strong position by playing a leading role in reconstructing and upscaling Ukraine’s ICT networks.
“Twenty-five per cent of all internet networks have been destroyed [and] over 4,000 mobile base stations were damaged” since the Russian Federation launched its full-scale invasion on 24 February 2022, notes Mykhailo Fedorov, Ukrainian vice prime minister and minister of digital transformation.
Adding to the list the destruction of 60,000 kilometres of fibre-optic lines, Ukraine’s telecommunication infrastructure damages total more than €2 billion.
A Memorandum of Cooperation, jointly signed by Fedorov and Latvia’s Minister of Transportation, Kaspars Briškens, at the 5G Techritory event in Rīga, contains 10 points for a win-win Ukrainian-Latvian collaboration.
Briškens explained that working towards rebuilding Ukraine’s infrastructure and bringing the country into the European digital ecosystem will create opportunities for Latvian companies and steer the Baltic country towards achieving the 2030 EU’s Digital Decade targets.
Rebuild anew and build new infrastructures
Out of the 10 key collaboration points in the memorandum, four focus on building and rebuilding telecommunication infrastructures in Ukraine.
Latvia committed to the “immediate restoration of broadband internet” in Ukraine and to help Ukraine deploy sustainable and human-centred internet connectivity.
“The digital acceleration goes hand in hand with preserving our values of human rights and privacy,” stated Evika Siliņa, Prime Minister of the Republic of Latvia, at 5G Techritory’s opening speech, before the official signing of the agreement.
Another collaboration area for the Latvian government is facilitating the take up of 5G technologies in Ukraine. Indeed, “Latvia’s industries are finding niches for creating and producing 5G products. We have a solid knowledge base we stand to deliver globally,” explained Siliņa.
In this view, Latvia committed to the promotion of partnerships “for the purpose of restoring the infrastructure” in Ukraine.
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Help Ukraine in acquiring the EU telecom “acquis”
Looking at the legal side, the Latvian government committed to facilitating Ukraine’s integration of EU acquis in three of the ten key collaboration points.
Latvia committed to helping Ukraine in implementing the provisions of two EU legislations: the European Electronic Communications Code (EECC) and the Radio Spectrum Policy Programme (RSPP).
The EECC is the EU’s regulatory framework for telecom operators, while the RSPP is an EU decision harmonising radio spectrum use.
Latvia will provide “advice and exchange of best practices in designing laws and regulatory basis according to EU and international best practices,” reads the memorandum.
EU funded programmes
Two points of the memorandum touch upon EU funds.
One concerns Latvia supporting Ukraine’s participation in EU-funded projects, such as the Connecting Europe Facility, an EU fund financing trans-European infrastructures, and notably telecommunication projects.
The second point is the commitment from the Latvian side to use its skills, experiences and best practices from an EU-funded project (Rail Baltica) to develop connectivity on railway and road infrastructures in Ukraine.
International organisations
Lastly, Latvia committed to supporting Ukraine in the larger telecommunication sphere of institutions, namely the International Telecommunication Union (ITU), the United Nations’s telecommunication agency.
Ukraine needs $411 billion for reconstruction, World Bank says
Ukraine’s reconstruction and recovery needs have grown to $411 billion, just over a year since Russia’s invasion, the World Bank said Wednesday (22 March).
[Edited by Luca Bertuzzi/Alice Taylor
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