Rostelecom, Russia’s national long-distance telecommunications operator, provides its multimedia network to support a multipoint videoconference organized by the Ministry of Education and Science of the Russian Federation to discuss the implementation of the National Project “Education”.  The Project, President Putin called as one of the state priorities, includes special measures of government support to high schools, colleges and universities actively introducing innovative educational programmes and will imply to at least ten institutes of higher education and several thousand schools across the country.

Among the videoconference participants there were representatives of regional authorities, business community, mass media and universities and colleges from Moscow, Saint Petersburg, Ekaterinburg, Rostov-on-Don, Novosibirsk, Samara and Vladivostok. In Moscow it was the Minister of Education and Science Andrei Fursenko, chancellors of universities and also journalists from leading federal mass media.

Rostelecom’s audio & videoconferencing services are developed on the back of the multipoint server  MGC-100, which allows to hold videoconferences with participants in multiple locations (48 – connected by ISDN and 36 – by IP). Simultaneously, it is possible to organize up to 20 videoconferences. Rostelecom’s audioconferencing system enables phone conferencing with 96 participants.

Videoconferencing services, provided by the Company, are in great demand from state organizations, businessmen and large companies for conducting distance learning, advanced training, business discussions and meetings, as well as for providing telemedicine etc.

Thus, on May 6, 2005 Rostelecom’s audio and videoconferencing facilities were used to support a communication session between the Assembly Hall of the Communications Ministry and five Russian cities - Saint Petersburg, Nizhniy Novgorod, Ekaterinburg, Krasnodar, Novosibirsk. The conference was devoted to the 60th anniversary of Victory Day.

The Company benefits from its own videoconferencing system itself. Videoconferencing makes it easier to organize intra-company meetings with participants in different offices, while saving time and expenses for business trips.