Lithuanian companies have experienced Internet interruptions in Belarus, operators operate without GPS Business

A wave of protests flooded Belarus on Sunday, when the country’s former leader, Alexander Lukashenko, announced in a presidential election that he had overwhelmingly won another term. People took to the streets to protest because they thought the election results were rigged.

Security services have taken various measures to stop the protests, which have blocked access to Minsk and the Internet connection.

If this continues for a week, the consequences for companies will be enormous.

“ATMs, various services, Github, Google Docs, Slack and others online Services vital to business operations have been shut down. Some medical equipment, traffic control systems did not work. About half of Belarus was “off”.

It’s good if it doesn’t last long, but if it lasts a week, the consequences for business will be huge, “Mikhail Klimariov, CEO of the Internet Security Society, told reporters in Minsk.

Maksimas Milta, representative of the Belarusian European Humanities University (EHU) in Vilnius, currently based in Vilnius 15 minutes He said Internet outages in Belarus started on the morning of election day and continue intermittently to this day, and that it is impossible to have normal access even using VPN or Proxy systems.

“So far, I have not been able to connect to Facebook Messenger, other social networks. However, this is not the case with Google Mail: 15 minutes said Mr. Milta.

According to him, only the state media of Belarus and the websites of institutions are usually available on the Internet.

“Correspondence devices, social media and YouTube are the main targets, as they aim to block people’s communication,” said an EHU spokesperson.

Internet disruptions are bad for Lithuanian businesses

The internet blocking also disrupted the activities of Lithuanian companies operating in Belarus.

For example, SBA company executives encountered problems in communication with the Mebelain furniture factory, which belongs to the group of companies operating in the Mogilev Free Economic Zone.

However, production processes were not affected by internet outages, the group claims.

“The internet connection has been broken since the weekend, but the production processes are not affected. As a result, it is more difficult for us to communicate with Lithuania with the company itself, as well as with ourselves, but we are looking for opportunities and giving solutions so that work does not suffer ”, 15 minutes said SBA Vice President Egidijus Valentinavičius.

Western Timber Group (VMG) has four factories in Belarus: two in Mogilev and one in Minsk and one in Vitebsk.

Due to internet connection failures, they had to adjust “certain automated processes”, 15 minutes VMG spokeswoman Gerda Šešplaukytė said.

“It had no consequences for the operations and production of the companies,” he said.

Truck drivers, no GPS

The situation in Belarus has not significantly disrupted the activities of freight carriers, say industry representatives. It is true that in the absence of the Internet in the country, truck drivers experience difficulties.

“We still do not feel any impact on communication with our clients, we still do not feel any change in the market, but we are constantly and actively monitoring the situation,” he added. 15 minutes Tomas Digaitis, spokesman for the state-owned Lithuanian Railways, confirmed.

However, Arūnas Tuma, the director of Kaminera, which is dedicated to transporting goods by rail from Belarus, claimed that if the protests were not stopped, the consequences would be felt in the future.

“Because of what is happening, I think companies will suffer in the first place, because it is not clear how the protests will end, how long the protests will last, how many factories will go through strikes.” 15 minutes said the businessman, who also works at the Klaipėda City Hall.

“Everything is ahead,” he added.

Mečislavas Atroškevičius, General Secretary of the Lithuanian National Road Transport Association (Linava), stated that the blocked entry to Minsk did not harm truck drivers, who transit through other third countries through the northern part of Belarus.

However, due to internet interruptions, truck drivers in Belarus have to operate without navigation.

“Our operators do not need GPS to search for routes, as they can cross Belarus with their eyes closed. 15 minutes stated M. Atroškevičius. “However, without GPS, the truck tracking system, which is built in for safety, doesn’t work.”

“Another drawback is that drivers cannot use the pre-declaration system normally without the Internet,” he added.

Will not join the strike

As Belarusians continued to protest, a strike broke out in some companies in the country on Tuesday. It also involved larger companies, including the pride of Belarusian industry.

Corporate workers are demanding that authorities end violence against protesters or restore normal Internet operation.

15 minutes It was not possible to find Lithuanian-owned companies whose employees protested.

Mindaugas Marcinkevičius, a businessman who runs the Mart Inn Food retail chain in Belarus with his partners, said the stores were running smoothly, but did not comment on details.

“The stores are open, only now I am not in Lithuania, it is very difficult for me to comment. But not in Belarus, for sure. Then I can comment when I return ” 15 minutes stated M. Marcinkevičius.

“We have not considered such an issue (strike – 15 minutes)“He added.”

VMG representative Gerda Šešplaukytė stated that “currently all VMG Group companies in Belarus operate in normal mode and carry out production at full capacity.”

The SBA also stated that work at its plant in Belarus is proceeding normally, but also stated that the concern is to monitor developments in the country.

“We also communicate directly with the management of the company to find out the situation and mood of the people in our company” Mebelain “and in the city,” said E.Valentinavičius, vice president of concern.

According to him, the situation of prolonged uncertainty, the unrest is not favorable for anyone and may affect the business environment in Belarus.

“We hope that the protests do not turn into deliberate destruction of property and unmanageable chaos, which will bring losses and disrupt the life of the country,” said one of the SBA executives.