On 20th October a regional exhibition forum on telecommunications, new  infocommunication technologies and their applications – Infocommunications  of Russia – the 21st century (Infocom-2004) – was opened in the Popov Central Museum of Communications in St. Petersburg.  

The opening ceremony of Infocom-2004 was interactively broadcast in Moscow, St. Petersburg, Nizhny Novgorod, Krasnodar and Yekaterinburg at the same time. 

As the main telecommunication operator in the Northwestern Federal District, North-West Telecom is actively participating in the exhibition forum. The Company is represented with its display on the united stand of OJSC Svyazinvest in Moscow and at the regional exhibition in St. Petersburg at the same time. NWT is also a co-organizer of the regional exhibition, not only an exhibitor.

Representatives of the municipal and regional authorities of St. Petersburg and Leningrad Oblast, leading telecommunication companies, universities and mass media took part in the press-conference and in the opening ceremony of the forum in St. Petersburg, including:     

• Yevgeny I. Makarov, assistant plenipotentiary of the President in the Northwestern Federal District;  
• Valery N. Bugayenko, Head of the Communication Supervision Federal Service;   
• Sergey N. Zhdanov, Chairman of the Committee for Informatization and Communication of St. Petersburg; 
• Vladimir A. Akulich, General Manager of OJSC North-West Telecom.

On the first day of the exhibition, a conference Information Technologies for People, Business and Society was held, and Vladimir Akulich, General Manager of OJSC North-West Telecom, delivered a speech there. In his speech, Vladimir Akulich touched upon the measures taken by OJSC NWT in the course of implementing the “Electronic Russia” federal targeted programme and outlined the priority areas of the operation of the Company as the system-forming operator of the region. At the end of his speech, V.A. Akulich said: “As the base regional operator of telecommunications, North-West Telecom is introducing the up-to-date infocommunication  technologies into the life of the society. We are aware of our responsibility and are doing our best to create an information society in the Northwestern Federal District as soon as possible”. 

The programme of the exhibition that will be held till the 23rd of October provides for holding presentations and conferences dedicated to particular subjects:  “Wireless Technologies in Russia”, “Multiservice Network Presentation”, “Methods of Secure Work with the Internet”, “Electronic Business Teleeducation”, etc.   

During the exhibition forum, the issues of implementing the “Electronic Russia” federal targeted programme in the Northwestern Federal District, using information technologies in education and medicine, as well as other aspects of applying modern technologies in the interests of the society will be discussed.