Exporting obsolescence
Canada’s Nortel Networks in Eastern and Central Europe
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 13119019 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Kayla Hilstob (0000-0002-6824-5958, Simon Fraser University, corresponding author) |
| Year | 2026 |
| Volume | 10 |
| Issue | 1-2 |
| Pages | 1-16 |
| Publication date | 2026-03-12 |
| Peer Reviewed | Yes |
| Open Access | Yes |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | Internet Histories (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 2470-1475 • E-ISSN: 2470-1483 |
| Publisher | Routledge (PUBLISHER • GB) |
| DOI | 10.1080/24701475.2026.2639244 |
| OpenAlex | W7135023722 |
| Language | EN |
| References cited | 16 |
This article examines the shared history of digital infrastructure between Canada’s now defunct telecom monopoly, Nortel Networks, and the newly independent states of Eastern and Central Europe (ECE), particularly Ukraine and Russia. Through the 1990’s telecom monopolies were in a battle to build the internet, and Nortel’s mission was “to be the architect of a world of networks,” with Canada at its centre (Bell System Memorial 1997). By the year 2000, Nortel was the dominant global supplier of high-speed optical networks (Hunter Citation2018), digitizing capitalism across the world, with ECE no exception. But in the fallout of the Dot Com Crash, stock prices plunged, development of new products stopped, and Nortel executives were arrested for fraud. Nortel still continued to obtain considerable contracts with ECE telecoms, despite several key customers in Western countries having lost confidence in the company (Calof et al., Citation2014). With some of the most lax lending regulations, the Canadian government through Export Development Canada (EDC) lent and guaranteed risky loans, encouraging post-Soviet states to continue choosing Nortel despite its declining products. EDC propped up Nortel beyond its viability, and locked ECE states into outdated equipment that would be costlier to service and upgrade. Unpacking the history of Nortel in ECE highlights the Canadian infrastructural nationalism at the expense of EDC development and raises questions about its lasting impacts.
European union · Government (linguistics · Legislation · Product (mathematics · Work (physics · Global trade, sustainability, and social impact · International Business and FDI · Post-Communist Economic and Political Transition
| Citation velocity | historical |
|---|---|
| Highly cited | No |