Ministry of Communications and World Bank Discuss Broadband Access in Russia

Moscow, June 22, 2015 – The Ministry of Communications and Mass Media of the Russian Federation and the World Bank presented and discussed today a report on “Broadband in Russia”, which was prepared by the World Bank and the Institute for Information Society.

For Russia, the development of broadband access is a key priority for the coming years. With continued growth of broadband, the country will be able to increase productivity, create jobs, and diversify its economy. International experience demonstrates the importance of broadband for economic and social development.

“When we conceived the study, we realized that Russia could serve as a model of broadband development for other countries given its high broadband penetration rate on such a vast territory. Our analysis of ultra-fast broadband (UFB) proved that in 2012 Russia added more FTTH subscribers than all of the EU countries together,” said Carlo Rossotto, Regional ICT Coordinator for Europe and Central Asia of the World Bank.

One of the main recommendations by the report authors is to articulate a national broadband development strategy that would allow systematic implementation of initiatives aimed at eliminating the digital divide, using broadband potential for innovation in industry, improving the competitiveness and investment climate of Russia’s regions, and developing smart infrastructure that includes intelligent electrical networks and transportation systems.

Today's presentation with experts concluded with a discussion of the priority areas for the broadband development strategy in Russia. The Ministry indicated that it would consider outcomes of the discussion in its future work on the strategy.