Residents of Moscow and St. Petersburg faced an unexpected problem: in areas where mobile communications are limited, even the city's Wi-Fi stopped working properly.
The problem lies in the authorization system. To connect to most public access points, you need to receive a confirmation code via SMS or through a call. But due to restrictions on mobile communications, messages and calls simply do not reach subscribers — connection becomes impossible.
The paradox is that city Wi-Fi networks were actively deployed from the spring of 2025 precisely as a backup in case of mobile internet blockages. However, in practice, this scheme failed.
According to the operator Hot-WiFi, in the first week of March 2026, traffic and the number of connections to public networks in the capital plummeted by 50–77% compared to February.
An additional problem is that some Wi-Fi points themselves receive internet through mobile networks. If the mobile signal is limited, such access points simply stop working.
Telecom operators, including Beeline and T2, explain the disruptions by external restrictions and security measures.