On tapes of a number of news agencies with reference to an unnamed
the source appeared
reports that
The Ministry of Defense did not agree on a draft decision on the allocation of frequencies for the third generation of cellular communications (3G). This happened during a meeting of representatives of the defense ministry, the
Ministry of Information
technology and communications and the State Commission for Radio Frequencies (SCRF),
preceded the dedicated meeting of the SCRF. According to
source of news agencies, the military demanded to provide
additional information regarding the working conditions of the operators in
2.1 GHz, which is planned to be used for 3G.
The Federal Communications Agency (Rossvyaz), which carried out work on clearing frequencies for 3G, is surprised by this position. “The leaders of the Ministry of Communications and Rossvyaz have done everything possible to start issuing frequencies for the third generation of cellular communications,” says the head of the agency, Andrei Bezkorovainy. “We expect that the Ministry of Defense will explain why they are hindering the introduction of the latest information technologies in Russia, and we hope in the end for a positive solution to the issue.”
The issue of 3G is not removed from the agenda of the SCRF meeting on Monday, and the decision on it will be put to a vote of the commission members. The commission consists of 18 people, of whom four are representatives of the Ministry of Communications and various subordinate structures (including the chairman of the commission, the minister Leonid Reiman) and two are representatives of the Ministry of Defense. If the military with signalmen cannot reach an agreed position, then the outcome of the vote will largely depend on the position of other security agencies. In addition to the Ministry of Defense, now the SCRF includes two representatives of the Federal Security Service and one representative each from the
Federal Security Service , the
Ministry of Internal Affairs ,
the Foreign Intelligence Service and the
Ministry of Justice .
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“The issue of issuing 3G will be delayed if not for long,” said Boris Ovchinnikov, director of analytical department at
J'Son & Partners . “Under pressure from the public, the military will sooner or later be forced to retreat.” However, the issue of 3G in Russia has already dragged on for several years. Back in 2001, the mobile operators
Vimpelcom and
MTS organized 3G test zones, but since then the beginning of the distribution of 3G frequencies has been delayed every year.