{"id":62020,"date":"2025-10-08T20:22:09","date_gmt":"2025-10-08T20:22:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/62020\/"},"modified":"2025-10-08T20:22:09","modified_gmt":"2025-10-08T20:22:09","slug":"russia-has-started-blocking-foreign-sim-cards-for-24-hours-belarus-says","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/62020\/","title":{"rendered":"Russia Has Started Blocking Foreign SIM Cards for 24 Hours, Belarus Says"},"content":{"rendered":"

Russia has begun enforcing a 24-hour blackout on mobile data and text messaging for all foreign SIM cards that connect to its networks, authorities in neighboring Belarus\u00a0said<\/a> this week.<\/p>\n

The move follows Russian Communications Minister Maksut Shadayev\u2019s proposal<\/a> in August to introduce a so-called \u201ccooling-off period\u201d for foreign SIM cards entering the country, a measure aimed at preventing\u00a0automated or unmanned systems, like drones, from using the mobile network in Russia.<\/p>\n

Under that original plan, foreign SIM cards would lose mobile internet for 5 hours after connecting to a Russian network, after which their users would need to clear a captcha test to gain access to mobile services.<\/p>\n

However, according to\u00a0the Belarusian Communications and Informatization Ministry, Russia extended the foreign SIM card restrictions to 24 hours.\u00a0The blackout will apply automatically when a SIM card is first detected on a Russian network and will reapply if the card remains inactive for three days, the ministry said, adding that\u00a0calls are not affected.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe decision is mandatory and intended to safeguard the national security of Russia and its citizens,\u201d the Belarusian ministry said as it advised travelers to rely on WiFi connections.<\/p>\n

Authorities in Russia have yet to publicly confirm the 24-hour blackout.<\/p>\n

The measure further complicates mobile phone use for foreigners, including tourists, visiting Russia. Since July, foreigners who want to buy a Russian SIM card and mobile phone plan have been required to register with the Unified Biometric System (UBS), a government-run database that collects biometric data. <\/p>\n

As a result of those new regulations, the process for getting access to Russian mobile internet now takes several days, which, for many tourists, is lengthy and impractical.<\/p>\n

\u201c[Foreign visitors] will only be able to receive and make calls, which is extremely inconvenient. This is a disenfranchisement of any foreigner or tourist, regardless of their country of origin. Nothing will work de facto,\u201d\u00a0Eldar Murtazin, a mobile internet analyst, told<\/a> BFM.ru.<\/p>\n

Mobile internet blackouts have become a common security measure throughout Russia amid Ukrainian drone attacks this year.\u00a0To mitigate the disruptions, Russia\u2019s Ministry of Digital Development, Communications and Mass Media has developed a so-called \u201cwhite list\u201d of essential domestic services that continue working during shutdowns.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Russia has begun enforcing a 24-hour blackout on mobile data and text messaging for all foreign SIM cards…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":62021,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[18],"tags":[85,123,46,125,4856],"class_list":{"0":"post-62020","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-internet","8":"tag-il","9":"tag-internet","10":"tag-israel","11":"tag-technology","12":"tag-telecommunications"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/62020","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=62020"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/62020\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/62021"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=62020"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=62020"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=62020"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}