Russia's telecoms industry is an example of modernisation in action, but President Medvedev says the industry should seek to set new standards - not just in Russia, but abroad.
Now you can enter the site president.rf in Russian, or Cyrillic script as президент.рФ.
President Dmitry Medvedev, launching a commission on modernisation and development, said he had checked out the new domain himself.
Russia is the first country to get it’s national domain in its native script. The President said it is a positive reflection of the development of Russia’s telecommunication sector.
“Across the word the telecommunciations industry is developing fast. Faster, indeed, than so-called traditional industries. In absolute figures it is comparable with the traditional economy. The total sum of revenues coming from 3rd generation telecoms will be over $300 billion. The demand for telecom services in Russia is increasing by 15 % on average and in some cases even by 30 %.”
At the same time Dmitry Medvedev said Russia should match the leaders in hi-tech production – and seek to influence industry standards worldwide. VimpelCom General director, Aleksandr Izosimov agreed it was important for Russian telecoms to closely cooperate in the international arena.
“It's important for Russia to take part in developing international standards – Telecoms is an area of cooperation. We need more coordination on our strategic aims in order to promote them not only though government channels but also through professional associations. “
Tele-Medicine, digital television and Internet telephony – all are key to an information economy in Russia – and a measure of the speed at which the country is developing.