Wireless access points will be installed in Russian villages with a population of over 100 people

At the end of April this year, Russian President Vladimir Putin took part in the work of the Council of Legislators. At the meeting, Vladimir Kiselev, Chairman of the Legislative Assembly, proposed to implement a new project to provide regions with access to the network. According to the provisions of the project in the village with a population of 100 people are invited to "hold WiFi", as reported by "Vedomosti" .

Kiselev also said that in some regions, including the Vladimir region, small towns with 250 to 500 people already provide wireless Internet. According to the official, the project is developing successfully. In order to increase the penetration rate of the Internet, the regions are asking to make changes to the Law on Communication, lowering the population bar to 100 people.

At the moment, Rostelecom together with the Federal Telecommunications Agency (Rossvyaz) is engaged in carrying out wireless Internet to small localities. Under the contract with Rossvyaz, the operator eliminates digital inequality for 168 million rubles. Access points at the same time are established only in those localities where there are payphones. Since August last year, social access to the Internet has become free, and before that its cost was 45 rubles per month. The contract was concluded in 2014, its validity is 10 years.

Despite the fact that the budget of the new project is still unknown, the price of its implementation, apparently, will be very high. In Russia, tens of thousands of localities fall under the new law, and most likely the government will have to look for additional sources of funding.

The general director of Iskratelekom, Alkhas Mirzabekov, says that the cost of one access point reaches 10,000 rubles. Another 20 000-30 000 rubles will be needed for its installation. Mirzabekov proposes to add to the budget and the costs of developing a WIFI user authorization system. The new law is likely to further increase the expenses of Rostelecom, which, moreover, must comply with the requirements of the Law of Spring on the storage of electronic messages of users.