Re: Cogent cutting links to Russia?

[Lady Benjamin Cannon of Glencoe <lb () 6by7 net>]

If sanctions were to come out after payment was received but before services are rendered, most providers would still 
not be able to provide the service.

It’s also likely that banks in question can no longer forward funds from Russia, even if it were still possible to 
provide a service.  I’m not a lawyer and this is where you need one, but doing business at all in Russia is going to 
become close to impossible.

I’d be curious to know how much of Cogent’s decision was weighted by choosing not to connect Russian customers vs being 
legally forced to stop.

A third possibility is that Cogent’s Russian entity (if they have one) or their US one is refusing to install new 
state-mandated surveillance hardware or follow certain procedures such as FSB/NSA letters, etc.

-LB

Ms. Lady Benjamin PD Cannon of Glencoe, ASCE
6x7 Networks & 6x7 Telecom, LLC 
CEO 
ben () 6by7 net
"The only fully end-to-end encrypted global telecommunications company in the world.”
ANNOUNCING: 6x7 GLOBAL MARITIME <https://alexmhoulton.wixsite.com/6x7networks>

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> On Mar 4, 2022, at 1:45 PM, David Conrad <drc () virtualized org> wrote:
>
> On Mar 4, 2022, at 1:14 PM, Bryan Fields <Bryan () bryanfields net> wrote:
> > On 3/4/22 3:52 PM, Martin Hannigan wrote:
> > > I would argue they don't have much of a choice:
> > >
> > > "The economic sanctions put in place as a result of the invasion and the
> > > increasingly uncertain security situation make it impossible for Cogent to
> > > continue to provide you with service."
> >
> > But Tier 1's don't pay for peering.
>
> As someone who once had to have lawyers argue (at different times) with the US Dept. of Treasury for (a) providing 
> open source software deemed a munition internationally and (b) updating certain globally accessible lists of names 
> and numbers for Internet use at no charge (under a US government contract no less): you do not have to receive money 
> to be viewed as providing a service.
>
> Regards,
> -drc