"The year of Popov was celebrated across the whole country," Sergei Ivanov said. "Such massive celebration shows that the Russian people have not forgotten their great compatriot."
The new Alexander Popov communications satellite was launched this year, as was mentioned at the teleconference. In addition, more than four hundred celebrations of Popov's birthday took place all over Russia, from Sakhalin to Kaliningrad, from Murmansk to the North Caucasus.
"Today we will put in operation the fifth and final segment of the fibre-optic cable from Yekaterinburg to Noyabrsk, which connects Ivdel, Nyagan, Khanty-Mansiisk, Surgut and Krasnoturinsk," said Igor Shchyogolev, Minister of Telecommunications and Mass Communications, who also took part in the teleconference. He said that the fibre-optic cable would provide broadband internet access and serve as the necessary infrastructure for providing e-Government services.
"This is a huge infrastructure project. The cable passes through 2,000 kilometres of hard-to-reach areas, providing access to modern communications services to a part of the country that has never had this opportunity before," said Sergei Ivanov, describing the recently commissioned cable.