As of June 1, VimpelCom, a leading mobile operator in Russia under the Beeline brand, will begin testing their wireless payment system, developed by Ambiq Technologies, in the St. Petersburg subway system. The mobile phone add-on was unveiled two months ago by Ambiq Tech St. Petersburg, the Russian branch of American company Ambiq Technologies.
Intel intends to close its R&D center in the Sistema-Sarov technopark in order to consolidate its offices in Nizhny Novgorod, Interfax reports. The decision was reportedly made in light of the considerable maintenance costs for an office with a relatively small staff, as well the need to optimize the company’s office structure and make its …
Sarov technopark: Nokia Siemens Networks becomes resident, Intel leaves Read More
Authorities in Kaluga region have started construction of an IT and biotechnologies technopark in the city of Obninsk, regional Governor Anataoly Artamonov told journalists. Under plans, by 2015 Kaluga region is to get $50 million from the federal budget on the technopark construction.
Presented as the brainchild of Prime Minister Vladimir Putin, the Agency for Strategic Initiatives (ASI) has appeared on the scene as a major element in Russia’s state sponsored innovation policy. Though making its fist public debut only three weeks ago, the project appears to have been duly prepared, as witnessed by the agency’s brand new …
Putin creates powerful innovation agency; Skolkovo could lose momentum Read More
Rostelecom Yug, the regional subsidiary of national telecommunications operator Rostelecom, will invest one billion rubles (approx. $35 million) to develop Sochi’s telecommunication infrastructure, the company announced. The funds will be used, in particular, to build an undersea fiber-optic cable in the Dzhubga-Sochi-Vesely area, to modernize power unit equipment, and to reinforce and digitalize the telecommunications …
Rostelecom to invest 1 billion rubles in Sochi’s telecommunications Read More
An original event took place last week in Moscow: Positive Hack Days — an international forum on practical information-security issues that aimed to “unite hackers and information security companies so that they could understand how much they need each other.” In addition to roundtables and masterclasses on a wide range of information security issues, the …
Apple’s Safari forced by hackers at Moscow contest Read More
During a visit to Kazan’s IT-Park earlier this month, presidential aide Arkady Dvorkovich praised Tatarstan for successfully implementing e-government at the local level. For example, now a couple wanting to marry can file an application online with a registry office, and parents can apply via the Internet for a place for their child at a …
The Skolkovo project, in partnership with Cisco, handed out 5.25 million rubles ($175,000) to three winners of their jointly sponsored Skolkovo Innovation Prize competition. Moscow inventor Evgeny Smetanin, 50, walked away with first prize of 3 million rubles ($100,000) for his project on transforming children’s toys into modular robotic playing devices.
Soyuz-Telecom, a WiMAX operator little known until now, announced last month the extension of its coverage to Vsevolozhsk, a city in the St. Petersburg region. The company, founded in 2007, now covers 17 small cities across the country. It has not, however, disclosed its number of subscribers. Russian entrepreneur Theophan Bondarenko owns a majority stake …
Rostelecom, Russia’s national telecommunications operator, opened its first digital signature center yesterday, reports CNews.ru, a website covering IT and telecommunications issues. Rostelecom offers USB keys designed to facilitate access to e-government services. The keys cost 600 rubles—a little more than $20.
Moscow-based startup incubator Fast Lane Ventures has just launched Jizo.ru, a metasearch engine for airline tickets. Jizo.ru aggregates ticket information “from a myriad of sources,” says the company, including the booking systems of leading travel agencies, airlines and booking sites. Its simplified, uncluttered interface allows users to select airline tickets by two main criteria: date …
Fast Lane Ventures launches airline ticket search engine Jizo.ru Read More
Tele2 Russia, the Russian subsidiary of the Swedish-based European telecommunications group, has offered to acquire a 97% stake in regional operator SMARTS for $390 million, including $100 million to cover debt. Based in Samara, SMARTS is a Russian mobile operator with a regional presence that would ideally compliment that of Tele2 Russia, which currently operates …
