Transcript of the beginning of the meeting:

Vladimir Putin: Mr Shchyogolev, there are currently several reforms under way in your Ministry. More important, there are certain changes regarding frequency control. I would like to discuss it in more detail.

Igor Shchyogolev: Mr Prime Minister, thanks to your support, a year ago we initiated the reform of a critical agency and vested it with additional authority. I am referring to the Federal Service for Supervision of Communications, Information Technology and Mass Media, which is part of the Ministry. Mr Sergei Sitnikov, who heads this Service, is in charge of these tasks.

We concentrated on eliminating bureaucratic barriers to businesses, increasing the transparency of pertinent processes and creating mechanisms to allow the state to exercise control and supervision and to enable people to see how these processes occur.

For this purpose, an integrated information system was instituted, which is in the final development stage. This system allows bidders to see on-line which frequency ranges are available, which of them they can bid for and what technologies can be applied.

Similar solutions were applied in a number of other areas, including the Federal Tenders Commission, supervised by Mr Sitnikov.

There have been considerable shifts in personal information processing, with the first report for 2009 prepared. We are interacting with personal information operators since leakage of such data usually incites a loud public reaction. Next year a law will take effect to significantly toughen requirements for personal information operators. We are working on these issues now.

Vladimir Putin: (addressing Sergei Sitnikov). Do you have anything to add?

Sergei Sitnikov: We have been overhauling the radio frequency range analysing which frequencies are used. Thanks to the federal automated system, the state managed to reclaim several frequencies which were not used or were questionably obtained. Six channels were redeemed in Moscow and four TV channels in St Petersburg using this system; although earlier some claimed that there were no such resources at all.

In April the Service opened a so-called one window. Bidders do not have to struggle to submit applications to civil and military organisations any more; they now apply to the Main Radiofrequency Centre, pay fees for related services, and the Centre completes the process regarding frequency examination, including military examination.

We managed to find solutions to a few problems, which, in our view, also benefit communications operators and broadcasting companies. I am primarily referring to inspections. The majority of inspections are now implemented as monitoring operations, with virtually non-contact inspections, in which newspapers, TV and radio programmes and operators' performance are analysed. We decide on further contact based on this review.