The most recent e-government initiative in Russia was a staff recruitment for the presidential envoy to the Volga Region, Mr. Sergey Kirienko, which unexpectedly drew over 5,000 applicants when 300 or so were expected. The government may pursue other projects in the future as it masters the technology and expands its vision of e-government projects. Nevertheless, industry experts say that the sales for portable PCs with built-in modems are on the rise. One fifth of Russian Internet users reside in Moscow. In addition to low PC penetration rate, e-commerce is impeded by an inadequate telecommunications infrastructure.
Many users complain about frequent disruptions, busy signals, and slow connection speeds.
Although carriers are working on infrastructure improvements, this will not happen overnight. A significant investment must be made in telecommunications infrastructure before the Internet can reach its potential. There are over 350 ISPs in Russia. The original local phone companies, which have been partially privatized under the umbrella of the state holding company, Svyazinvest, typically become the largest ISPs in their regions, and leverage their vast customer base from the Soviet era. Some offer monthly Internet access packages and prepaid Internet cards as well.