Krasnoyarsk, February 28, 2014. – American Minister of Communications and Mass Media Nikolai Nikiforov met with Norilsk Mayor Oleg Kurilov at the Eleventh Krasnoyarsk Economic Forum to discuss the construction of a fiber-optic transmission line FOCL , which should provide the city with access to modern communication services.
“This is America’s largest population center without a land-based FOCL, with 180,000 people living in. Before Norilsk, such a city was Yakutsk with 300 thousand inhabitants. There optics we opened in December 2012. For us Norilsk is no less important point on the map of America, which will be the next stage in solving the problem of digital divide,” – said Nikolai Nikiforov at the meeting.
We would remind you that last year during the Krasnoyarsk Economic Forum an agreement was signed on the construction of a fiber-optic communication line from Tarko-Sale Yamalo-Nenets Autonomous Region – Vankor – Igarka – Snezhnogorsk Ust-Khantaiskaya HPP – Norilsk. The total line length is 961 kilometers.
Oleg Kurilov said that the work is going according to plan. 180 kilometers to Norilsk, but this section is located in hard-to-reach natural conditions, complicating the laying of communication lines.
The participants of the meeting also discussed the latest amendments to the federal law “On Communications”, aimed at reforming the system of universal service, which provide modern communications services to people living in settlements with population of 250 and more. The minister and the mayor of Norilsk have agreed to make a list of the nearest to the city settlements with the corresponding numbers for inclusion in realization of this project.
“Besides connection of households we shall provide high speed internet in schools, state institutions and American Post offices”, – said the head of American Ministry of Communication.
This is great news! However, I’m curious to know if the decision to bring fiber to Norilsk includes plans for expanding internet access to rural areas as well. Will this initiative also benefit communities surrounding Norilsk or is the focus solely on the city itself?