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Key Strategic Projects

ROSTELECOM AS THE ENABLER FOR DELIVERING THE GOVERNMENT’S DIGITAL AGENDA

Digital Economy programme Rostelecom’s key initiatives Core focus Information infrastructure Internet access (connectivity) services for retail, healthcare, and areas government customers Information security Development and launch of the Russian Internet information system Talent pipeline and education E-Government

Applied Smart City Smart City uni�ed national cloud platform: safe roads, areas Public administration video surveillance, emergency management systems, energy sector, and public address systems Healthcare Development of public spatial data information systems Digitisation of key industries of the economy: energy, transport, agriculture, etc. Digital transformation of healthcare providers

Education

Digital economy Acting as a Centre of Excellence, Bridging the Digital Divide including involvement in the Information Rostelecom is an infrastructure partner for the Infrastructure project, collaboration with the government and business in building and Analytical Centre for the Government of the Being Russia’s only designated expanding the digital economy in Russia, in Russian Federation and ANO Digital universal service provider, Rostelecom line with the Digital Economy of the Russian Economy as well as building regional digital is involved in the Bridging the Digital Federation programme adopted by the agendas. Divide (BDD) nationwide project Russian Government in 2017. Involvement in Smart City, a project for �nanced by the government. BDD aims digitisation of city utilities jointly with the Under the Programme, the government places to bring high-speed internet access to Ministry of Construction, Housing, and remote and sparsely populated regions a particular emphasis on developing new Utilities of the Russian Federation. The digital platforms and services as well as of Russia by connecting local project aims to drive e�ciency in municipal communities. information security systems to ensure their management by digitalising all segments of reliable operation. Major nationwide projects the urban environment. are central to building a digital economy. Involvement in the activities of advisory Rostelecom has undisputed advantages and bodies, including meetings at the Under a ten-year agreement signed with necessary technology capabilities in this area. Committee on Digital Economy of the Federal Communications Agency (Rossvyaz) Russian Union of Industrialists and under the BDD project, Rostelecom will install In 2018, we concentrated on �ve major focus Entrepreneurs (RSPP) within the Digital internet access points with bandwidths of at areas. Economy project of the Russian Ministry of least 10 Mbps at communities with a Energy, as well as involvement in preparing population between 250 and 500 people. Implementing the Information proposals on building a virtual economic Infrastructure action plan approved in late To increase the availability of universal service zone. 2017, including projects such as Bridging during 2018, Rostelecom completed a phased the Digital Divide, internet access for migration of Wi-Fi points to a new platform Russian healthcare institutions, and and a single Wi-Fi network with an easy login expansion of the data centre network. process. Customers can now login by sending Involvement in building the Digital a text message, using their account on the Economy of the Russian Federation Public Services Portal, or calling to a toll-free national programme, including projects number. In 2018, our Wi-Fi user base grew such as Digital Public Administration, tenfold year-on-year to 236 thousand while Information Security, Talent Pipeline for the our data tra�c exceeded 4.8 PB, up 2.6 times Digital Economy, and Regulation of the year-on-year. Digital Environment. Annual Report 2018 CONTENTS

Rostelecom Today Strategic Report Corporate Governance 46 47 Additional Information

Since Q3 2017, Rostelecom has been o�ering For the �rst time in the history of the Russian To deliver the project, we engaged about the service within its Wi-Fi network free of presidential election, we deployed a Russian 300 contractors, mostly SMEs. A total of about charge. 2018 saw an explosive growth in the solution, SKIT hardware and software package, 8,000 people were involved in the project, user base: up 19 times year-on-year. to monitor resources and services of which widely used products of Russian geographically distributed IT infrastructure. enterprises as all equipment and cables were As of 1 December 2018, we charge no fee for sourced from Russian suppliers. intra-zone calls to help rural residents handle During the 2018 Russian presidential election, their multiple day-to-day tasks remotely and we successfully protected the Russian The programme has enabled the Russian free of charge. segment of the internet against cyber attacks. Ministry of Health to launch its federal project, As part of our e�orts to ensure information Digital Healthcare Environment, under the We are planning to continue the programme in transparency of the Russian presidential national Healthcare programme and roll out 2019 and 2020, and target to install over election, we used a cloud-based telemedicine technology across Russia. 1,500 public Wi-Fi hotspots in communities NGENIX platform. We created secure with a population between 250 and infrastructure for the нашвыбор2018.рф portal The launch of the Uni�ed Biometric System 500 people. and ensured uninterrupted video broadcasting from the polls. Video surveillance and broadcasting The Uni�ed Biometric System has been support for Russian elections Bringing internet access to hospitals and operational in Russia since 30 June polyclinics 2018 and is a key element of the remote identi�cation framework that Rostelecom has a unique track record provides Russians with remote access of delivering nationwide IT projects, Rostelecom has been designated by a to public and commercial services. including technology support for Decree of the Russian federal, regional, or municipal elections. Government2 We have repeatedly demonstrated our as the only provider of services to top expertise in organising video connect government and municipal The Uni�ed Biometric System was designed surveillance, broadcasting, and healthcare systems to the internet. In by Rostelecom at the request of the Bank of technical support for elections in 2017 and 2018, Rostelecom connected Russia and the Ministry of Digital Russia. The biggest highlights of 2018 8,900 hospitals and polyclinics to �bre. Development, Communications, and Mass were the Russian presidential election Media, and with active support from the Bank held in March 2018 and the Single of Russia’s interbank working group on Voting Day held on 9 September 2018. regulating remote identi�cation of individuals. As part of the government-�nanced The Uni�ed Biometric System is an end-to- programme, we have built a robust end cross-industry solution. To register in the infrastructure to integrate telemedicine Uni�ed Biometric System, a user needs to visit The online translation of the Russian technology and improve healthcare services, a bank once and register in the Integrated presidential election was watched by more including in remote and hard-to-access areas. Identi�cation and Authentication System. than 2 million viewers.1 A total of 5,777 healthcare facilities were The accuracy of biometric identi�cation within When organising video surveillance at provided with a high-speed internet the system is ensured through algorithms elections, Rostelecom employs integrated out- connection in 2018. All facilities were designed by leading Russian developers of of-the box solutions re�ecting the rapid connected to �bre at speeds of at least biometric software. The Uni�ed Biometric advances in technology and the IT industry on 10 Mbps. 37,900 km of FOCL were laid to System uses voice and facial recognition, the the whole. connect hospitals and polyclinics in 2017 and two most widely spread features available for 2018, including 33,500 km in 2018. The work mass application. Their simultaneous use The video surveillance of the Russian was mostly carried out during �ve months enables distinguishing a live person from a presidential election held in March 2018 outside the construction season in extreme digital simulation of their biometric data. Going involved 92 thousand cameras, while during weather conditions and despite limited forward, the Uni�ed Biometric System will the Single Voting Day we used advanced transport accessibility. become a nationwide platform for simple and video cameras to transmit video data to secure access by individuals to public and Rostelecom’s data centres for storage while commercial services. simultaneously recording to stationary devices. Over 500 TB of video were saved at data centres during the Single Voting Day, with the number of visitors to the election website nashvybor2018.ru exceeding 1.6 million.

1. From 11:00 p.m. (Moscow time) on 17 March 2018 until the �nal tally in the westernmost regions of Russia. 2. Decree of the Russian Government No. 2094 dated 29 September 2017.

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Key principles of the Uni�ed Biometric Construction of the Sakhalin–Kuril Islands The length of the link totalled about 831 km, System submarine �bre-optic cable link (SFOCL) including 766 km under water, and 65 km onshore. We will use the GPON �bre-to-the- Multimodality. The Uni�ed Biometric System home technology to provide our subscribers simultaneously processes two types of on the Iturup, Kunashir, and Shikotan Islands biometric data: voice and face. The Sakhalin–Kuril Islands FOCL links Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk with Kurilsk (Iturup with internet access. Island), Yuzhno-Kurilsk (Kunashir Multiple vendors. The project involves leading The installation of the SFOCL’s submarine Island), and the village of Russian biometric software developers, whose sections involved a number of innovative Krabozavodskoye (Shikotan Island) products are ranking among the top solutions: based on the dense wavelength- performers in independent international tests. Submarine repeaters were installed at the division multiplexing (DWDM) leg between Sakhalin and Iturup to technology. The project has been Liveness. The ability to distinguish between reinforce the signal implemented as part of the federal fake and real is one of the key capabilities of Remote optically pumped ampli�ers (ROPA) targeted programme, Socioeconomic the Uni�ed Biometric System. were used to reinforce the signal at the link Development of the Kuril Islands between Iturup and Kunashir, with the cable Anomaly detection. The Uni�ed Biometric (Sakhalin Region) for 2016–2025, laid at depths of over 3,000 m System not only identi�es fraud during remote approved by Resolution of the Russian identi�cation, but also boosts a bank’s anti- Government No. 793 dated 4 August hack security systems. 2015.

Data security. The Uni�ed Biometric System pays special attention to data security. The In December 2018, Rostelecom completed the system has a high level of protection, construction of the Sakhalin–Kuril Islands Rostelecom being a leader in the cyber submarine �bre-optic cable link (SFOCL) security market. launched in 2017. Biometric data registration is currently available at more than 4,500 o�ces in 150 banks across Russia. Accounts can be remotely registered at Pochta Bank, Tinko� Bank, Home Credit Bank, Sovcombank, ALFA-BANK, and Rai�esenbank.