The Russian government has approved in principle a draft decree on the privatization of Svyazinvest, the country’s national fixed-line telephone operator, and sent the document to the presidential administration, a source in the government told RBC.

Russia's Economic Development and Trade Ministry has issued a draft of guidelines on the privatization of Svyazinvest, a major telecommunications holding, a ministry source said Monday.

Russia’s Internet access and data transfer market continues to grow apace. In the estimation of J'son & Partners consultants, Russians spent $350 million in the first quarter of this year on Internet services, 55 percent more than in the same period last year.

Liberalization of the long-distance communications market has been postponed until January 1, 2006, from July 1, 2005, the press service of the information technology and telecommunications ministry has reported.

RTL Group clinched a deal here Friday for the purchase of a 30% stake in the Russian broadcaster Ren-TV. The European media holding, which is part of Bertelsmann AG, is buying the stake at an undisclosed price, from REN-TV's two co-founders and chief executives, Irena and Dmitry Lesnevsky.

After the launch of the English-language Russia Today TV-channel, Russia may be able to broadcast in other foreign languages, a senior official said Monday.

Svyazinvest privatization can be postponed until the beginning of 2006, Leonid Reyman, telecommunications minister, has told journalists today. He believes that this issue is of no fundamental importance.

It is over two centuries ago, when work was removed from home. The phrase “going to work” was later coined to mark the final dawn of the industrial era when workers moved en-mass from their houses to work in factories and offices on a daily basis. Prior to this date, most craftsmen and women worked from their dwelling places, which also served as their workplaces.

Digital broadcasting in Russia will make it possible to increase the number of national channels by more then 7 times, but will require more than RUR40bn (approx. USD1.44bn) in investments . . .

The President's decree concerning Svyazinvest's privatization can be issued already this summer, German Gref, minister of economic development and trade, has stated today at the exhibition Svyaz Expocomm 2005.

The probability of Svyazinvest privatization is close to 100 percent, Aton Capital analysts say commenting on non-official information about the Russian Security Council opposing to the deal.

The Russian communications and information technologies ministry is planning to provide telephone communications for the whole country within 2.5 years, the ministry's head Leonid Reyman has told the State Duma.

Russia's IT industry may increase its export revenues tenfold by 2010, unless the country remains at the stage of a "workshop" as India and China. As Russian communications and information technologies minister Leonid Reyman declared at a meeting with Moscow regional government . . .

On Tuesday, news bulletins posted a few curious items concerning the privatization of Svyazinvest. If we sum them up, the general picture of preparations for the auction will become clearer.

Russia possesses sufficient intellectual resources to offer an alternative to the Silicon Valley, Leonid Reyman, communications and information technologies minister of Russia told journalists today.

The number of cellular telecommunications users will soar by 38 percent to 100m people in Russia in 2005, telecommunications minister Leonid Reyman has said at a meeting held to consider the telecommunications industry's overall performance in 2004.

Nine MTS, BeeLine and MegaFon most popular tariffs

Mobile phones have long since ceased to be a luxury, and are now a daily aspect of the life of modern people.

The goal of the Yandex’s WiFi support program which was launched at the end of spring this year is obvious — the more accessible the Internet is, the more the number of people that will be using Yandex, said Yelena Kolmanovskaya, Yandex chief editor.

Rapid development of information-technology (IT) applications and the need for a faster and more convenient data-transfer platform has led to the development of a wireless access to the Internet.

Mobile TelsSystems (MTS), VimpelCom (BeeLine) and MegaFon are three top telecom companies

Shareholders have approved plans to reorganize all mobile subsidiaries of Uralsvyazinform, an affiliate of national telecom titan Svyazinvest, into a unified business structure in the first quarter of 2005, according to company sources.

Corporate and individual users have attributed the popularity of WiFi applications to an optimal correlation between price, quality and convenience.

Many regional companies are developing transport ATM networks in an effort to take themselves more competitive.

Russia's inexpensive and talented software developers are an appealing workforce for companies abroad.

Nikolai Repin, a "veteran" of MTU-Intel, joined the company in 1997. He never dreamed specifically of working in the IT sector, but in 1994-1997, he headed a successful Moscow Internet project financed by the Soros Foundation.

With more and more foreign interest in Russian software expertise, the sector is expected to boom. By Christopher Kenneth

The software-services outsourcing industry in Russia today is at about the same level as it was in India a decade ago. Now, if Russia can emulate what the Indians have done over the past 10 years, the sector will be a powerful engine of economic growth in this country.

Mobile-phone operators engaged in serious fighting. By Maxim Bukin.

World-class telecoms systems are making their appearance in Moscow and St. Petersburg.