MOSCOW, July 9. /TASS/. Russia will provide Internet across all of the country’s territory by 2030; over 1,000 base stations will be installed in remote settlements in 2021, Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin said in a video address to participants at the Cyber Polygon international cybersecurity online training.
"We endeavor to ensure that the people can access the web all over Russia’s territory, including the most remote parts. We will provide this by 2030. We will install more than a thousand base stations as early as in this year to organize web access in every small settlement," the Prime Minister said.
Elimination of digital inequality remains a government priority, Mishustin noted. Free Internet access has become an important measure of the quality of life in the modern world, he said.
Bringing the Internet to the most remote corners of the country is particularly important because it means not merely information but also new options in terms of employment, the Prime Minister said. "We see already now the pool of vacancies for remote work is growing. Remote employment is gaining popularity," he noted.
Not merely the labor market but other economic spheres changed under the digital transformation effect, Mishustin said. Artificial intelligence, machine learning, and the Internet of Things are being proactively rolled out across production and transport infrastructure, medical institutions, government agencies and various science-intensive sectors. Augmented reality and machine learning technologies transform the industry and the energy segment, the official said. They open new and more eco-friendly prospects for development, he added.
The quick development of coronavirus vaccines would not have been possible without the application of modern technologies, Mishustin said. "Use of artificial intelligence enables expediting the research work, so the development of new pharmaceuticals requires dramatically smaller time," he noted.