Russo-Finnish consortium halts Siberian LTE equipment manufacturing

Rusnano, Tomsk-based Micran and Finland?s NSN are shutting down Wireless Technology Center (WTC), their joint LTE base station facility in Tomsk

Rusnano, Russia?s nanotech giant, Tomsk-based Micran, a major electronics manufacturer, and Finland?s Nokia Solutions and Networks (NSN) are shutting down Wireless Technology Center (WTC), their joint LTE base station facility in Tomsk, East-West Digital News, the first all English-language online resource dedicated to Russian digital industries, reported earlier this week. Russian media have offered the lack of legal endorsement by national regulators as an explanation for the move. A year ago WTC equipment was indeed formally denied the status of a ?Russian-made product? under Russian law. With NSN then owning 75%, the Siberian production capacity was considered ?foreign.? CNews.ru, for one, reported earlier this month that despite the high hopes of the partners last July when Rusnano bought into the JV ? thus bringing NSN?s shareholding down to 50%, on a par with Rusnano and Micran?s combined ? the consortium has nonetheless failed to get their product the coveted green light. ?Russian-made? status is required to deploy 2...