Estonia continues to collect telecommunication data from its citizens despite it being against EU law and the constitution, ERR reports. The European Court of Justice and Estonia’s Supreme Court have concluded that the data collection is illegal. The data include detailed records from telecommunications and internet service providers, which the EU court argues infringes on…
Finnish authorities suspect that Russia attacked the Balticconnector gas pipeline between Finland and Estonia, Finnish daily Iltalehti reports. The undersea pipeline in the Gulf of Finland was closed due to a leak on 8 October 2023. At the same time, telecommunications operator Elisa’s data cable between Finland and Estonia was damaged as well, ERR reports. Finnish…
Lithuanian mobile operators criticised the government’s plan to introduce mandatory registration of prepaid SIM cards as of 2024, LRT reports. The government argues that mandatory registration is necessary due to phone fraud and other criminal activity. Vytautas Bucinskas, head of business assurance at Telia Lietuva, pointed out that prepaid SIM cards were often used by…
The average gross monthly salary in job advertisements in Estonia amounted to EUR 1,481-1,947 in the first half of 2023, which was 13% higher than in 2022, according to data from recruitment portal CV Keskus, Postimees reports. The average salary offered for top specialists and middle managers stood at EUR 2,170-2,728 (up 17%), for mid-level…
Latvian data centre operator DEAC and Lithuania’s Data Logistics Center (DLC) have obtained a ten-year loan of EUR 30mn from SEB Bank, The Baltic Times reports. The companies will use the funds to further expand their telecommunication infrastructure. DEAC will build a third data centre in Riga, while DLC will expand its data centres in…
Estonia’s Ministry of Interior will propose banning the use of non-personalised prepaid SIM cards, ERR reports. Under the proposal, anyone would still be able to buy a prepaid SIM card, but would have to provide personal details to activate the card. Veiko Kommusaar, undersecretary for internal security at the Ministry of Interior, noted that Estonia…
The number of serious cyber incidents recorded in Estonia stood at almost 75 per week in the beginning of June 2023, which was up from around 40 incidents in the beginning of 2023, Tõnu Tammer, cyber incident manager at the Estonian Information System Authority (RIA), said, ERR reports. RIA’s experts have identified around a dozen…
Lithuanian telecommunications company Telia Lietuva posted unaudited revenue of EUR 230.5mn in the first half of 2023, which was up 7.2% from EUR 214.9mn in the same period of 2022, GlobeNewswire reports. Adjusted EBITDA amounted to EUR 83mn (up 13.6%) and profit to EUR 31.8mn (up 21.2%). In the second quarter of 2023, Telia Lietuva’s…
Latvia’s Procurement Monitoring Bureau (IUB) has barred the state-owned provider of electronic communication services, Latvian State Radio and Television Centre (LVRTC), to continue procurement and sign contracts for mobile telephony services, LETA reports. IUB told LVRTC to change the procurement rules. Earlier, mobile telecommunications operator Bite Latvija complained about the terms of LVRTC’s procurement, saying…