The authorities obliged Rostelecom to use only the Russian equipment for connection of schools to the Internet

2019: Rostelecom - the only contractor on connection of schools to the Internet

On November 25, 2019 it became known that the Government of the Russian Federation obliged Rostelecom to use only the Russian equipment for connection to the Internet of schools and polling precincts. The corresponding order is published on the official portal of legal information. It is dated on November 21, 2019.

The order determines Rostelecom by the only contractor of several categories of services which the Ministry of Telecom and Mass Communications will buy for schools, schools and technical schools and also regional and territorial election commissions in 2019-2020. The list of services includes providing Internet access and GIS, including transfer and data protection, communication security and also blocking of the resources doing harm to health and development of children. Requirements to connection, access and data transmission will claim the Ministry of Telecom and Mass Communications and Minprosveshcheniya in coordination with Central Election Commission.

Contracts for these services should be signed with the only contractor for a period of up to December 31, 2020 Rostelecom has the right to involve in their execution subcontractors and collaborators, but at the same time is obliged to fulfill not less than 5% of obligations independently.

As additional condition the following is on hand set: both Rostelecom, and collaborators should use during the course of performance contracts telecommunication equipment of the Russian origin.

If the equipment with necessary characteristics is not manufactured in Russia and also if the producer cannot deliver it in enough or in the necessary terms, Rostelecom has the right in coordination with the Ministry of Telecom and Mass Communications to use other equipment. At the same time the contractor should provide in the ministry the copy of the request to the Russian producer and the reply of this producer that it cannot provide need of the contract.

Also one more additional condition is entered: payment of the contracts signed with the only contractor will be performed proceeding from the volume of actually rendered services (in the amount of, not exceeding the contract price).

Rostelecom very much wanted to become the uniform contractor on connection of schools to the Internet. In the summer of 2018 the president of the company Mikhail Oseevsky at a meeting with the prime minister Dmitry Medvedev said that the company can implement the project of connection of schools to the Internet in three-four years. According to Rostelecom, city schools should be connected to the Internet at a speed from 100 Mbps, rural — from 50 Mbps. 80% of the Russian schools do not conform to these standards.

As explained in the press service of Rostelecom, for November, 2019 the company will create the selected network with cryptography and traffic filtering for schools. "the last miles" which in regions will be laid by the relevant operators on connection of socially important objects will be used at the same time.

In the spring of 2019 at a meeting with Putin Oseevsky specified that connection of 40 thousand schools to the Internet will cost 40 billion rubles — approximately in the same amount that it is put in the national program "Digital Economy of Russia". This amount means payment of traffic until 2025^[1].

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