In 2012, the Russian Federationannounced one of the world’s more ambitious broadbandInternet development goals: providing 80 percent of Russianhouseholds with ultrafast connection speeds - at least 100megabits per second (Mbps) by 2018.1 That goal exceeds thecurrent targets in Germany and the European Union, and it isabout equivalent to those currently being pursued bycountries with ambitious strategic broadband connectivitygoals, including Denmark, Sweden, and the United States. Aspart of the effort to reach its 2018 target, the Russiangovernment recently tasked Rostelecom - a largelystate-owned enterprise and the dominant firm in Russia’sbroadband market - with the responsibility of connecting 4million people (about 2.8 percent of all households) insmall, widely scattered settlements throughout Russia byinstalling 200,000 kilometers of fiber-optic cable providingspeeds of at least 10 Mbps. The assignment is both a greatopportunity and a huge challenge for Rostelecom and for theentire Russian broadband sector. What can Russia do toensure Rostelecom’s successful completion of its specifictask as well as the success of the broader 2018 target?
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