Rostelecom May Receive 2.5 Billion Rubles to Connect Military Commissariats to the Internet
According to CNews, Rostelecom has been designated as the sole contractor for connecting military commissariats to the internet. The cost of providing broadband internet access to these commissariats will amount to 2.515 billion rubles from the federal budget. These expenses are allocated for the period from 2019 to 2024 as part of the federal project “Information Infrastructure” under the national program “Digital Economy.” The project is overseen by the Ministry of Defense. By 2023, 1,420 commissariats are expected to be connected to the internet. In addition to internet connectivity, the federal project “Information Infrastructure” also aims to develop IT infrastructure within the military commissariats.
Rostelecom already has experience working with the Ministry of Defense under other contracts. The company has been appointed as the sole contractor for creating a universal platform for inventory, accounting, and monitoring the status of all types of energy resources and property complexes of the defense department. The value of this contract is 4.15 billion rubles.
CNews highlights that the need to modernize the information systems of military commissariats became urgent after Russian President Vladimir Putin signed a decree on “partial mobilization” in September of this year. Since mobilization had not been conducted in Russia since World War II, the partial mobilization revealed issues with outdated data in the commissariats’ databases.
Additionally, Putin has ordered the creation of a state information resource containing data on citizens necessary for updating military registration documents by April 1, 2024. This resource should include information about citizens who are registered for military service, as well as those who are not registered but are required to be, and those not in the reserve.
The Ministry of Digital Development, the Ministry of Defense, and regional governors must convert the necessary information from commissariat documents into digital form by December 30 of this year. The Federal Tax Service and the Ministry of Defense are also tasked with using the Unified Federal Information Register, which contains data on the population, to identify citizens who are registered for military service, as well as those who are not registered but are required to be, and those not in the reserve.