1/ Russian soldiers overwhelmingly prefer to use Telegram for tactical communications despite the Russian army having its own dedicated military messengers. The reason isn't complex – the military's own alternatives are unreliable and difficult to use. ⬇️
2/ 'Vault No. 8' explains the problem:
"The Telegram slowdown is particularly nasty because Telegram is used for communication on the front lines.
Military messengers have been around since I wrote about this, but... Guess what you have to do to get a firmware-ready smartphone?
3/ "That's right! Buy it [with your own money] and send it in for a firmware update. On top of that, one of the military messengers periodically crashes like crazy, and the phone has to be sent in for a [periodic] firmware update, which takes at least a couple of weeks.
4/ "Customer service is subpar.
Bottom line: Starlinks aren't working, and they're going to slow down Telegram. All of this has already had a profound negative impact on military communications."
5/ There's a notable parallel here with the Russian-developed alternative to Starlink, the Yamal 601 satellite internet system. It is far larger and more difficult to use and install, while providing a much slower service with lower reliability. /end
Source:
t.me/vault8pro/53761
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