Russia either are state owned or include significant state participation. State participation is either direct or through a state-controlled entity.
There are hundreds of ISPs throughout the country functioning on a divided market
of well-connected big cities and underdeveloped infrastructure in towns and villages.
The established fixed-line providers have been traditionally the largest ISPs, though
many small ISPs have started to emerge. Under a regulation that entered into force
at the beginning of 2006, all companies that control more than 25 percent of the capacity of communication traffic need to publish a list of prices for interconnection and
data transmission within 20 days for the inspection and approval of the regulatory
agency. 33
There are several Internet exchange points (IXP) in Russia. The main ones are
Moscow IX, 34 independent, comprising various locations in Moscow; 35 SPB-IX in St.
Petersburg, jointly with the MSK-IX; SAMARA-IX in Samara; NSK-IX in Novosibirsk;
and KRS-IX in Krasnoyarsk. Other IXPs are the North-West Internet Exchange based
in St. Petersburg and Ural-IX in Ekaterinburg and Perm.
The cable television market and broadband Internet access market significantly
increased penetration to around 40 percent in 2007. 36 Broadband connections are
growing as operators invest in modernized networks. However, broadband is emerging
mainly in large urban areas (ADSL, cable, and FttH/FttB-based services). A large portion
of residential areas use Ethernet local area networks (LANs), followed by dial-up (27
percent), and ADSL (23 percent). Wireless broadband networks have become popular
mainly in large tourist cities, especially St. Petersburg and Moscow, and some operators
have announced plans to launch Wi-Fi coverage on a large scale. Also, IPTV services
have been launched. 37
In remote regions, satellite connection is very attractive to the Russian population,
in comparison to fixed-line charges. Two main educational networks in Russia (RadioMSU and the university network RUNET) are supported by satellite.
There are about 250 mobile operators on the Russian market. The mobile market
represents about 40 percent of telecom revenue. As of September 2006, the market
was divided as follows: MTS, 34 percent; Vimpelcom, 32 percent; Megafon, 19 percent;
and others, 15 percent. According to studies, some 40 percent of the population does
not have a mobile phone. Russia’s three biggest operators were issued 3G licenses
in 2007.
The importance of the blogosphere to Russians is increasing rapidly. The Russianlanguage part of the Internet, or the RUNET, is an active and vibrant environment. As
a Russian-language platform, the RUNET has grown as the center of modern culture
connecting Internet users from Russia and the rest of the CIS region, and ethnic Russians in Germany, Israel, and the United States. It brings together people sharing the
same language and similar history and culture, and is a self-sufficient online environment with its own search engines, Web portals, free e-mail services, and social network
Russia
213
There are hundreds of ISPs throughout the country functioning on a divided market
of well-connected big cities and underdeveloped infrastructure in towns and villages.
The established fixed-line providers have been traditionally the largest ISPs, though
many small ISPs have started to emerge. Under a regulation that entered into force
at the beginning of 2006, all companies that control more than 25 percent of the capacity of communication traffic need to publish a list of prices for interconnection and
data transmission within 20 days for the inspection and approval of the regulatory
agency. 33
There are several Internet exchange points (IXP) in Russia. The main ones are
Moscow IX, 34 independent, comprising various locations in Moscow; 35 SPB-IX in St.
Petersburg, jointly with the MSK-IX; SAMARA-IX in Samara; NSK-IX in Novosibirsk;
and KRS-IX in Krasnoyarsk. Other IXPs are the North-West Internet Exchange based
in St. Petersburg and Ural-IX in Ekaterinburg and Perm.
The cable television market and broadband Internet access market significantly
increased penetration to around 40 percent in 2007. 36 Broadband connections are
growing as operators invest in modernized networks. However, broadband is emerging
mainly in large urban areas (ADSL, cable, and FttH/FttB-based services). A large portion
of residential areas use Ethernet local area networks (LANs), followed by dial-up (27
percent), and ADSL (23 percent). Wireless broadband networks have become popular
mainly in large tourist cities, especially St. Petersburg and Moscow, and some operators
have announced plans to launch Wi-Fi coverage on a large scale. Also, IPTV services
have been launched. 37
In remote regions, satellite connection is very attractive to the Russian population,
in comparison to fixed-line charges. Two main educational networks in Russia (RadioMSU and the university network RUNET) are supported by satellite.
There are about 250 mobile operators on the Russian market. The mobile market
represents about 40 percent of telecom revenue. As of September 2006, the market
was divided as follows: MTS, 34 percent; Vimpelcom, 32 percent; Megafon, 19 percent;
and others, 15 percent. According to studies, some 40 percent of the population does
not have a mobile phone. Russia’s three biggest operators were issued 3G licenses
in 2007.
The importance of the blogosphere to Russians is increasing rapidly. The Russianlanguage part of the Internet, or the RUNET, is an active and vibrant environment. As
a Russian-language platform, the RUNET has grown as the center of modern culture
connecting Internet users from Russia and the rest of the CIS region, and ethnic Russians in Germany, Israel, and the United States. It brings together people sharing the
same language and similar history and culture, and is a self-sufficient online environment with its own search engines, Web portals, free e-mail services, and social network
Russia
213