Alexey Alyasev: Russia Has Much to Offer the World and Is Successfully Building Its Digital Sovereignty

Why telecommunications are essential to the development of artificial intelligence and how far Russia has advanced in this area were discussed with an IT Russia correspondent by Alexey Alyasev, CEO of Signaltek JSC. The company, a partner of the forum, specializes in hardware platforms for telecommunications, big data processing and artificial intelligence.

– Alexey Alexandrovich, Signaltek has become a partner of the Global Digital Forum. Why is this important to you?

– This is the second time we have partnered with the forum. The first edition was held last year in Nizhny Novgorod. It is an interesting event that brings together professionals from around the world and addresses genuinely important topics. One of them is the development of artificial intelligence. AI relies on fundamental technologies such as computing and data transmission, and these technologies cannot exist without connectivity. As a developer and manufacturer of telecommunications equipment, Signaltek understands that this is where the future lies. And we are helping bring that future closer.

– Which areas of telecommunications and IT require the most attention today?

– Given the focus on artificial intelligence, the development of telecommunications is becoming particularly important. Data volumes are growing, putting significant pressure on existing infrastructure. This creates challenges both for upgrading existing networks and for building new ones.

Under sanctions and amid geopolitical tensions, ensuring technological sovereignty is important. Our company has been developing and manufacturing telecommunications equipment in Russia for 15 years. But demand for our products increased significantly over the past five years, when restrictions were introduced. That is the new reality of the global economy. Access to advanced technologies can now be used as leverage, and this is becoming the norm rather than the exception. To avoid that, countries need to develop these technologies themselves, locally, or through partnerships that do not depend on the largest Western vendors. Russia has much to offer the world, and it is successfully building its sovereignty, including its digital sovereignty. Last year, we spoke with colleagues from African and Southeast Asian countries. They are interested in Russian equipment that is not exposed to the risks that emerged in 2022, when Western vendors abandoned their infrastructure.

– Artificial intelligence and automation are changing the way digital systems are managed. How will this affect the telecommunications industry?

– AI is entering every sector of the economy and virtually every aspect of people’s lives. Telecommunications is no exception, especially since data transmission is a cornerstone of modern digital services. Our industry is actively using AI both to develop new products and code and to manage networks. Neural networks are being integrated into telecom management systems to use resources more efficiently. This helps maintain reliable, uninterrupted traffic across all communication channels, with minimal latency, high data quality and high transmission speeds.

– In your view, which Russian telecommunications and digital infrastructure solutions could find demand in international markets?

– There are two types of equipment that are in particularly high demand in our industry. The first is equipment for traditional wired internet, where a cable runs into an apartment and a Wi-Fi router then distributes the signal. Signaltek, together with several other companies, is developing such services and equipment for wired internet, covering the entire path from an apartment to, say, a data center or communications hub. And this equipment is on par with products made by Western and Chinese companies. The second area is wireless technologies.

In 2022, the foreign vendors on which our entire mobile network had been built left the Russian market, and telecom operators were left without support. This created an opportunity for Russian IT companies. They were able, within a short period, to develop technologies that their Western competitors had spent two decades working on. Over the past five years, Russia has developed advanced base stations that are now being deployed in telecom operators’ networks. One example comes from our partner, Softime, one of Russia’s leading developers and manufacturers of LTE base stations.

These technologies have also opened up export opportunities. Four manufacturers have traditionally dominated the global market: three European companies and one Chinese. Now that we have our own products, we are looking for friendly countries and organizations with which we can cooperate, guaranteeing them the quality, reliability and security of their communications, which is a priority for any country. I believe these areas will be in demand, and we can compete very effectively in them.