Telecommunications in Russia

Telecommunications in Russia is highly developed and have evolved from the early days of the <a href="/facts/Telegraph/JhRYDSDu">telegraph</a> to modern <a href="/facts/Fibre_broadband/YaokmYnc">fibre broadband</a> and high-speed <a href="/facts/4G/Lfq6mSxl">4G</a> networks. Due to the <a href="/facts/Geography_of_Russia/j8w4AvM6">enormous size of the country Russia today</a> (not to be confused with the <a href="/facts/RT_(TV_network)/9d48Xk8D">state owned station</a>), the country leads in <a href="/facts/List_of_countries_by_number_of_television_broadcast_stations/b1cYCAvA">the number of TV broadcast stations</a> and repeaters. The foundation for <a href="/facts/Privatization_in_Russia/oI3vJMeP">liberalization of broadcasting</a> was laid by the decree signed by the <a href="/facts/President_of_the_USSR/c3oK4wqu">President of the USSR</a> in 1990. Currently, telecommunication is mainly regulated through the Federal Law "On Communications" and the Federal Law "On Mass Media"
Telecommunications in Russia has undergone significant changes since the 1980s, radio was a major new technology in the 1920s. <a href="/facts/Politics_of_the_Soviet_Union/oJ9MjvbQ">Soviet authorities</a> realized that the <a href="/facts/Amateur_radio/cBsMyamV">amateur radio</a> was highly individualistic and encouraged private initiative. Criminal penalties were imposed but the working solution was to avoid broadcasting over the air. Instead radio programs were transmitted by copper wire, using a hub and spoke system, to loudspeakers in approved listening stations, such as the "Red" corner of a factory. This resulted in thousands of companies licensed to offer communication services today. There were few channels in the Soviet time, but in the past two decades many new state-run and private-owned <a href="/facts/List_of_Russian_language_radio_stations/pHnawzWb">radio stations</a> and <a href="/facts/Television_in_Russia/sECo8e82">TV channels</a> appeared. The Soviet-time "Ministry of communications of the <a href="/facts/RSFSR/W9pC4bK6">RSFSR</a>" was through 1990s transformed to "Ministry for communications and informatization" and in 2004 it was renamed to "Ministry of information technologies and communications (Mininformsvyazi)", and since 2008 <a href="/facts/Ministry_of_Communications_and_Mass_Media_(Russia)/HErYuKBj">Ministry of Communications and Mass Media</a>.
Censorship and the issue of <a href="/facts/Media_freedom_in_Russia/mrlMAu0f">media freedom in Russia</a> have been main themes since the era of the telegraph. Russia is served by an extensive system of automatic <a href="/facts/Telephone_exchange/PaRpGm8I">telephone exchanges</a> connected by modern networks of <a href="/facts/Fiber-optic/5ruuIFbj">fiber-optic</a> cable, <a href="/facts/Coaxial_cable/aG9FfCpL">coaxial cable</a>, <a href="/facts/Microwave_radio_relay/bz9H9Ete">microwave radio relay</a>, and a domestic satellite system; cellular telephone service is widely available, expanding rapidly, and includes <a href="/facts/Roaming/SEfznzxD">roaming</a> service to foreign countries. <a href="/facts/Fiber_to_the_x/YaokmYnc">Fiber to the x</a> infrastructure has been expanded rapidly in recent years, principally by regional players including Southern Telecom Company, SibirTelecom, ER Telecom and Golden Telecom. Collectively, these players are having a significant impact of <a href="/facts/Fiber_broadband/YaokmYnc">fiber broadband</a> in regional areas, and are enabling operators to take advantage of <a href="/facts/Consumer_demand/mtb1m6F0">consumer demand</a> for faster access and bundled services.

Telecommunications in Russia open-in-new

Telecommunications in Russia