RUSSIAN FEDERATION - Российской Федерации

"По словам замминистра информационных технологий и связи РФ Дмитрия Милованцева, рынок беспроводного доступа является одним из наиболее динамично развивающихся во всей отечественной телекоммуникационной отрасли. По оценкам г-на Милованцева, рынок беспроводного доступа растет на 61% в год..." (According to Dmitry Milovantsev, Russia's ICT Minister, the market for wireless Internet access is one of the fastest growing parts of the domestic telecom industry. Mr. Milovantsev estimates that the wireless access market is growing by 61% per year...) --- "В России построена крупнейшая Wi-Fi-сеть" (In Russia is the largest Wi-fi service), RIA (via CNews), 15 December 2006

"The virtually universal licensing of all active subjects in the market of communications services is an out-of-date approach, that complicates work both of communications service operators and of state departments. In the Russian Statute On Licensing of Certain Types of Activity of 1998 it is fairly established, that licensing (as one of the most rigid forms of the state control) makes sense only if all other mechanisms of control are inapplicable or extremely inefficient..." ---from Explanatory Notes to the Draft Statute, 'On Amending the Federal Statute "On Communications"'..., Media Law and Policy Institute, Moscow (2002).

• "На пути к коренной реформе всемирной системы управления использованием радиочастотного спектра" (On the Way to Radical Reform of the World System for Regulating the Use of the Radio-Frequency Spectrum) by Aleksandr Pavlyuk, Vice-Chairman of ITU-R's Radiocommunication Advisory Group - powerpoint presentation in Russian for an ITU Workshop on spectrum management in Kyiv, Ukraine (12-15 July 2005).
• "Концепция регулирования радиочастотных взаимодействий" (Concept of the regulation of radio-frequency interactions) - in this 18-page essay and 11-slide powerpoint, both in Russian and apparently prepared for presentation on 24 October 2004, Vadim Novikov argues for radio frequency management to migrate to private property principles (stage one) and then to "open spectrum" [Открытый спектр in Russian] (stage two).
• "Открытый спектр" (Open Spectrum page in the Russian Wikipedia).
• TRCH RSS-online" - the free searchable online frequency database of the Regional Commonwealth for Communications (RCC), in Russian. RCC provides communication policy coordination among the former Soviet republics. This database contains radio allocation information for Armenia, Ukraine, Moldova, Uzbekistan, Kyrgyzstan, Belarus, Tajikistan and Russia, as well as coordination data for Norway, Finland, Estonia, Poland, Lithuania and Turkey.
• "Цели и задачи современного этапа конверсии радиочастотного спектра в Российской Федерации," "(Goals and objectives of the current stage of the radio frequency spectrum conversion in the Russian Federation) by M. A. Bykhov, N. I. Kharitonov and E. E. Devyatkin, published in «Электросвязь», No. 1 (2006) in Russian. This short overview is written by the team in charge of developing the conceptual framework for transferring spectrum from the government to the private sector.
• "Россвязь отстранили от частот," (Rossvyaz frequencies suspended) by Aleksandr Dementev, RBK Daily, 13 June 2007 in Russian (an English-language summary is in Novecon's Telecommunciations Digest for Russia/CIS): responsibility for managing radio frequencies and issuing licenses has passed from Rossvyaz to the new Federal Service for Supervision in Mass Communications, which was created by merging Rossvyaz and the cultural heritage protection agency. The new service, which reports directly to the government rather than to a ministry, has authority over mass media, communications, information technology, copyright, culture, etc.
• "Russian Government Releases Radio Regulations," TIA Pulse Online, February 2000: "Russia's State Commission on Frequency Management recently published its Radio Regulations of the Russian Federation... This is the first time that Russia has made publicly available its plan for frequency allocations... An English-language version of the regulations is available, in hard copy format, for $800. A Russian-language version is available in both hard copy format and on CD-ROM, for $100..."
• "Problem of Retention of Radio Frequency Resources for Military Communication Systems" by G.I. Azarov, O. Yu. Perfilov, and B.G. Telezhniy, Military Thought, March, 2001 (translated from Russian into English):

  "The problem is that different economic sectors have been rapidly expanding the use of foreign-made mobile radio communication systems... which operate within frequency bands that have been long used by the domestic military communication systems. For this reason, it is particularly urgent to retain the radio frequency resource for military communication systems during implementation of the governmental program envisaging conversion of the radio frequency spectrum. The only correct way to deal with the problem, as we see it, is finding technical and organizational methods of coordinated functioning of different communication systems, which provide for a joint use of the radio frequency resource, rather than introduction of administrative bans and restrictions. The main effort in this context ought to be focused on ensuring electromagnetic compatibility..."

• The Russian Regional Informatization Council webpage on conversion of the radio spectrum from military to civilian uses - in Russian.
• "Конверсия и открытый спектр" - (Converting and opening spectrum), 21 June 2006, in Russian - Vadim Novikov reflects on the seminar Stichting Open Spectrum gave at the Centre for Strategic Research in Moscow.
• "Communications and Defense Ministries Find Common Language" - our analysis of Novecon's English-language summary of an article appearing in Vedomosti, 20 April 2007 (Vedemosti's archive is accessible only to subscribers): the Defense ministry and the Communications and IT ministry both control large blocks of frequencies - with Defense having the larger supply. The government's project to convert military frequencies to civilian use made these two ministries into rivals for power over the booming wireless communications industry. Two offices in the general military command were caught up in the rivalry - the Chief Signal Officer and the Office of Radio-Electronic Warfare. When the Chief Signal Officer won the internal power struggle, this led to a larger agreement: "Voentelecom" will coordinate the issuing of licenses for civilian use of military frequencies. [An earlier report by Interfax, quoted in the "Moscow Defense Brief," says the government created Voentelecom in October 2002 "to maintain and develop communication systems of the Russian Armed Forces, other troops, military formations and agencies. It will be subordinate to the Defense Ministry..."]
• "Минсвязи лишают функций" (Ministry of Communications deprived of functions), Ведомости (Vedomosti), 20 March 2003, N° 47 (847) in Russian. According to this newspaper article, the Russian parliamentary group drafting a new law on communication accepted a number of "corrections ...in particular, questions of the regulation of radio-frequency spectrum... were removed from the scope of the Ministry of Communications. The deputies agreed that their draft should state that the radio spectrum must be regulated by the President. The discussion, apparently, dealt with the creation of an interdepartmental organ which is not subordinate to the Ministry of Communications..." [GKRCh?]
• Official English translation of the Russian Federation law "On Communication" adopted and approved in June 2003. Chapter 6 is about licensing; Article 22 is about radio regulation.
• Trends in the Russian Telecommunications Market, by Andrey Gidaspov, US Department of State, Foreign Commercial Service, 16 March 2004:

  "The [2003 Communications] Law does not substantially improve or clarify licensing procedures... it does not provide information on what particular activities are subject to licensing, nor the procedures or criteria by which licensing decisions are made, and does not require the licensing agency to make public why a license is denied..."

• ГКРЧ вплотную занялась новым "Планом перспективного использования радиочастотного спектра" (GKRCh considers new "Plan for promising uses of the radio-frequency spectrum"), IT Daily, 7 April 2005: Russia's allocation table and strategic plan for spectrum management were adopted in the mid-1990s and no longer "correspond to reality." So the State Commission for Radio Frequencies appointed new working groups to bring these documents up-to-date. The strategic plan should be ready by the 4th quarter of 2005, the table in the first quarter of 2006.
• "Об утверждении Таблицы распределения полос частот между радиослужбами Российской Федерации," (Table of radio frequency allocations approved for the Russian Federation), Government proclamation No. 439-23 (15 July 2006), 189 pages in Russian.
• Национальная радиоассоциация (National Radio Association) - founded in 1997 as a nonprofit organization of equipment producers and licenseholders to help members solve problems related to frequency use and the introduction of new radio technologies.
• Protocol No. 7/5: Enumeration of the radio-electronic devices for which permission to acquire is not required (in Russian).
• "В Россию разрешили ввозить автомобильные локаторы и беспроводные слуховые аппараты," (Russia approves import and license-free use of automobile radars and wireless hearing aids), ITAR-TASS (via Gazeta.ru) in Russian, 20 August 2009: At their latest meeting the State Commission for Radio Frequencies added automobile radars and wireless hearing aids to the list of products which can be imported and used without special permission. They join the products already listed in SCRF Resolution 07-20-03-001 (frequency allocations for short-range devices)
• Протокол №18/3: Положение о порядке использования на территории Российской Федерации внутриофисных систем передачи данных в полосе частот 2400-2483.5 МГц," (Protocol 18/3: Policy on the authorization of use in the Russian Federation of intra-office data-transmission systems in the frequency band 2400-2483.5 MHz), State Commission for Radio Frequencies, 29 April 2002. This rule created a simplified licensing procedure allowing unmodified type-approved Wi-fi equipment to be used after 1 June 2002 (i.e., the physical layout of each WLAN did not have to be approved by the Commission). Superceded in December 2004 - see below.
• "Правовые вопросы использования радиочастотного спектра для оборудования Wi-Fi в России," [Legal use of the radio frequency spectrum for Wi-Fi equipment in Russia] by Viktor Koval and Alexander Stadinchuk, Mir Mobile, March 2003, pages 30-34 in Russian. An excellent summary of the legal framework as of 2003 - outdated now.
• ПРОТОКОЛ N 25/2: ОБ ИСПОЛЬЗОВАНИИ НА ТЕРРИТОРИИ РОССИЙСКОЙ ФЕДЕРАЦИИ РЭС ТЕХНОЛОГИИ BLUETOOTH,РАБОТАЮЩИХ В ПОЛОСЕ ЧАСТОТ 2400 - 2483,5 МГЦ" (GKRCh Protocol No. 25/2: On the use of Bluetooth technology in the Russian Federation in the frequency band 2400 - 2483.5 MHz), in Russian: "The State Commission for Radio Frequencies (GKRCh) of the Russian Government has officially allowed the use of Bluetooth equipment in the 2400-2483.5 MHz band. It cancelled the necessity of individual permissions for the operation of each equipment and, from now on, Bluetooth transmitters with a range up to 10 meters can be operated freely..." ---Approval News, July 2003 (Centro de Tecnología de las Comunicaciones, España).
• BlueJack.ru - technical/security info about Bluetooth, all in Russian.
• ФЕДЕРАЛЬНЫЙ ЗАКОН О СВЯЗИ (Federal Law No. 126-FZ "On Communications") in Russian. In effect since 1 January 2004, this law introduced a new framework for radio frequency regulation, forbidding any frequency use without "authorization." Click here for an official English translation.
• "Govt approves resolution on sale of communications licenses," Russia & CIS IT and Telecom Weekly (Interfax), 23 January 2006: "Russian Prime Minister Mikhail Fradkov on January 12 signed Resolution No. 8 on approving the rules for auctions or tenders for licenses to provide communications services, the government's press office said. This replaces an earlier resolution [No. 578 of June 10, 1998] on license tenders. The new rules apply to the sale of licenses for territories with limited number or frequency resources, but not to licenses for TV and radio broadcasting. Federal communications agency Rossvyaz will organize the tenders or auctions..."
• "Wi-Fi in Russia" by Maria Chernobrovkina, US Department of State, Foreign Commercial Service, 26 March 2004: "The essence of the problem is getting a license for frequencies. It is a bit easier to obtain such a license for the use of 2.4GHz indoors. But, obtaining a license for outdoor usage of this frequency could take more than a year..."
• Telekom Consultants sells a documents kit with online help to speed the process of applying for authorisation of a WiFi network (all documents in Russian). The kit includes application forms for the necessary approvals - providing a clear picture of the complexity of the process.
• "В России идет борьба с подпольным Wi-Fi" (In Russia, the fight against clandestine WiFi), CNews, 13 July 2006, in Russian: The Federal Service for Communications Oversight (Rosswaznadzor) fined the owners of 9 public Wi-Fi hotspots in Rostov for failure to register.
• "Постановление Правительства РФ от 12 октября 2004 г. N 539 "О порядке регистрации радиоэлектронных средств и высокочастотных устройств" (Decision of the Russian Federation Government of 12 October 2004, Number 539, 'On the order of registration of radio-electronic media and high-frequency devices"). Basically, every radio device has to be registered with the government except for the types listed at the end of this document: Bluetooth and "incidental radiators" in the ISM category, wireless microphones, GSM handsets and cordless phones, radio controllers for models, etc. Wi-Fi was not listed until a few months after the decision was adopted.
• "Решение 04-03-04-003 от 6 декабря 2004 года Об использовании полосы радиочастот 2400-2483,5 МГц для внутриофисных систем передачи данных" (Resolution 04-03-04-003 of 6 December 2004 on the use of radio-frequency band 2400-2483,5 MHz for intra-office data transmission systems), State Commission for Radio Frequencies. This waived license requirements for Wi-fi use inside buildings, factories and warehouses.
• In the St. Petersburg Times, Sophia Kornienko cited "Russia's high degree of bureaucracy as the main factor impeding market development and competition... Over the past two years, the procedure for receiving permission to utilize WiFi in the 2.4Ghz range has been simplified... But actions taken remain insufficient... The Russian Association for Networks and Services, or RANS, is currently looking for a frequency scope that could become available on a license-free basis..." (24 February 2004).
• Intel's list of WiFi hotspots in Russia
• The June 2004 issue of J'son & Partner's Russian Wi-Fi Market Watch says that "2004 is becoming a launch year for Wi-Fi services in Russia as new users are signing up for commercial Wi-Fi services costing $6-10 per hour. There are now nearly 1,200-1,400 active users of Wi-Fi in Russia... Commercial hotspots first developed in St. Petersburg in 2003 and now reach 31 locations. In 2004 the Moscow market overtook St. Petersburg in number of hotspots with 47 locations... Students account for close to 60% of total Russian Wi-Fi users (as there are many free hotspots in major universities). Business people are the second most active Wi-Fi user category in Russia. There are at least 400-600 regular Wi-Fi business users representing 70% of the actual revenue generated by Wi-Fi..."
• J'son predicts that by the end of 2007, Russia will have more than 7000 public hotspots - an annual growth-rate of 1000%.



• "Russia's MTS launches Wi-Fi Internet access network in Moscow," Prime-TASS, 14 December 2005 (via Cellular News): "The number of Russia's Wi-Fi Internet access points, or hotspots, are expected to reach 680 by the end of [2005]... The largest hotspots network has been launched by Yandex Wi-Fi, a subsidiary of Yandex, Russia's leading search engine..."
• "Golden Telecom to build 5,000 WiFi nodes in Moscow in 2006," Prime-TASS News Agency, 9 March 2006. Also see "Moscow Wireless Mesh Network To Reach 3.9 Million Homes" by David Haskin, TechWeb News, 5 May 2006: "Nortel and Golden Telecom, a large Russian Internet service provider, said Thursday they are teaming to build out a large Wi-Fi mesh network in Moscow... The companies claimed that the network will be secure and will support a host of applications such as voice-over-IP and location-based services such as mapping..."
• "The Russian market for broadband fixed wireless," by Andrey Gidaspov, Commercial Service, US Embassy Moscow, February 2004: "As the 2.4 Ghz frequency band, heavily used for Wi-Fi systems, has reached its saturation point, the majority of existing broadband wireless deployments in Russia are looking into shifting to 3.5 and 5.3 Ghz bands... While the BFW market in Russia is rapidly growing, there are still a number of barriers hampering further developments including: lack of frequency resources and cumbersome frequency regulation procedures, high equipment costs, lack of noise immunity and the large number of non-authorized users, especially in the large cities..."
• "The Russian System of Licensing of Television and Radio Broadcasting," by Yana Sklyarova, Moscow Media Law and Policy Center (edited by Irene Gentile, European Audiovisual Observatory) 8 pages in English.
• Анализ основных причин отказа в выдаче лицензий и рекомендации по составлению заявлений на получение лицензии" (An analysis of the main reasons for non-licensing and recommendations on license applications), Federal Service for Communication Oversight (Rossvyaznadzor), 14 March 2007 in Russian: In 2006 Rossvyaznadzor processed some 15,000 license applications. Over 7600 new licenses were awarded and 1200 were extended, but about 3800 were rejected - mainly because of inconsistent, incomplete or unvalidated documentation accompanying the applications.
• RF-ID: Всё о радиочастотной идентификации (RFID - Everything about radiofrequency identification) - RFID news in Russian (items mostly from outside Russia, suggesting there is not yet much use of this technology inside Russia). Website affiliated with a Russian-language magazine called ID News.
• "UPM Raflatac supplies RFID inlays for Moscow Metro contactless tickets," UPM press release, 5 February 2007: "The Moscow Metro is one of the world's most heavily used metro systems, carrying 8.2 million passengers on a normal weekday. The RFID inlays provided by UPM Raflatac will replace the cards with magnetic stripe Moscow Metro is currently using for tickets with a fixed number of journeys... In the first stage, the monthly usage of UPM Raflatac HF inlays... will be 5 million pieces. After a transitional period at the end of summer 2007, usage will rise to approximately 30 million inlays per month..."
• "ТЕХНОЛОГИЯ DECT И ЗАКОН" (DECT technology and the law) by A. M. Naimov, Networks and the Communication System No. 5 (2001).
• Russian UWB Group (website in Russian and English) - focussing on UWB radar and research by the Moscow Aviation Institute, they also provide news about UWB communications technology development around the world.
• "Спектр частот 60 ГГц является ключом к разработке беспроводных сетей с высокой пропускной способностью" [The 60 GHz frequency band is key to the development of high-capacity wireless networks], NAG.ru via Center for the Analysis of Electromagnetic Compatibility, 7 September 2007 in Russian.
• "Телефон будущего," (Telephone of the future), in Открытые системы (Open Systems): Russian translation of Loretta Prensip's interview with Joseph Mitola about "cognitive radio" published in Computerworld, issue 13/2003.

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