If your business has employees who travel internationally, it’s worth being aware of a new mobile roaming rule introduced in Russia. Russian mobile operators will enforce a temporary “cooling-off period” that affects all foreign SIM cards, including those from the UK, when they first connect to a Russian mobile network.
This change applies regardless of your mobile provider and affects travellers from every country.
What’s changing
When a UK SIM connects to a Russian network for the first time:
• Mobile data and SMS will be unavailable for 24 hours
• Once the 24 hours have passed, services will resume normally
• Voice calls are not affected
• If the SIM is not used for more than three days, the restriction resets and applies again the next time it reconnects
This isn’t a fault with your device or your UK mobile provider, it’s a regulation implemented by Russian operators using EU services should track this.
Why is this happening?
Although details vary, the restrictions form part of Russia’s internal security measures. Reports indicate that these blackout periods are designed to limit the use of mobile networks by automated or unmanned systems (such as drones) during periods of increased national security sensitivity.
For UK business travellers, this means the restriction is not targeted at them personally, it’s simply an automatic system-wide rule applied to every SIM connecting to Russian networks.
What This Means for Your Team
If your employees travel to Russia for work, they should expect:
- A temporary inability to use mobile data
- A temporary inability to send or receive SMS messages, including verification codes
- Full availability of voice calls
This could impact the use of services such as:
- Two-factor authentication (SMS 2FA codes)
- Banking apps
- Mobile email and messaging apps
- Cloud applications
- Travel or booking apps
How Travellers Can Prepare
To minimise disruption:
- Connect to Wi-Fi wherever possible
Most hotels, offices, restaurants, and public buildings offer Wi-Fi. This will allow use of messaging apps, email, and VOIP services during the restriction period.
- Switch any accounts that rely on SMS 2FA to app-based authentication
Tools like:
- Microsoft Authenticator
- Google Authenticator
- Authy
…continue working on WiFi without SMS.
- Download offline files before travelling
Useful for documents, maps, itineraries, and presentations.
- Inform your team before they travel
Understanding the restriction avoids confusion or unnecessary support queries.
Final Thought
We’re here to help.
If your business regularly sends staff abroad or needs help modernising authentication methods or improving mobile resilience, IntraLAN’s team is happy to offer advice.
