It became known that part of the “Affordable Internet” project, which was announced by Russian President Vladimir Putin in January, will be implemented by April 1. This means that access to some “socially significant” Russian services will become free from April 1, and not from July 1, as originally planned. RIA Novosti reports this with reference to Deputy Head of the Presidential Administration Sergei Kiriyenko.
“You know that there is a decision by our president that accessible Internet should appear in the country by July 1, that is, key domestic services would be provided free of charge on the Russian Internet. Not all, of course, but at least from home computers and desktops such an opportunity will be available not from July 1, but from April 1,” Mr. Kiriyenko commented on this issue.
President Putin announced a project under which Russian users would receive free access to some domestic Internet services in January of this year. It is worth noting that free access to the government services portal, as well as the websites of federal and regional authorities, was supposed to appear on March 1, but by this date officials did not have time to agree on the bill. Russian mobile operators and Internet providers estimate their own losses from the “Affordable Internet” initiative at 150 billion rubles annually. They believe that the state should subsidize this project or compensate for losses in some other way.
Source: 3dnews.ru