Beeline, one of Russia’s leading mobile operators, has opened a telecommunications data centre in Helsinki, Iltalehti reports.
The facility aims to boost data transfer speeds and improve access to services like messaging app Telegram, according to the paper.
The Finnish Transport and Communications Agency's Cybersecurity Centre told IL that it is monitoring the situation closely.
The data centre is classified as an internet exchange point, or IXP, which are typically quite small in Finland.
Beeline's parent company, Vimpelcom, is among Russia's 20 most valuable publicly traded companies.
Following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, Western countries imposed sanctions targeting various sectors, including the country's technology and telecommunications industry.
IL noted that Canada has imposed sanctions on all major Russian mobile operators, including Vimpelcom.
