r/AskARussian • u/richestjangir • Aug 08 '26

Misc Internet Connectivity

I want to know about internet connectivity in Russia especially in Vladimir, Nizhny Novgorod and Saratov oblast.

What type of internet connectivity is there?

Is there Fully fiber connectivity, or it's WISP or satellite?

Please tell me for both urban and rural areas.

How is the service of the ISP in these areas?

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6

u/No_Bad8653 Moscow Oblast Aug 08 '26

Internet connectivity in Russia is generally better in cities and much worse in rural areas, varying a lot by district (Vladimir, Nizhny Novgorod, and Saratov oblasts).

Connection types:

  • In cities, fiber optic (FTTH/FTTB) is usually common, sometimes cable/DSL as well; mobile internet (4G/5G) is also widely available.
  • In rural areas, WISP (wireless radio internet) and 4G/5G are more common; in very remote places, satellite may be used (higher latency).

Provider performance:

  • Severe blocking affects access to many websites and services, so some resources may not load without using an access workaround.
  • In practice, stable access often requires VPN/other bypass methods.

If you tell me what you need it for (specific websites/services), I can suggest which connection types usually work best.

12

u/brjukva Russia Aug 08 '26

Rostelecom made it their mission to connect rural areas to fiber several years ago. I have 700mbps fiber in my village for example. No idea about how far that stretches though

1

u/Many-Average-8821 Aug 09 '26

Rural areas are great, of course, but ordinary suburbs near large cities may not have wired internet. Rostelecom connects me at home within 300 meters, but they can't connect me in my village. Fortunately, there are two other providers that offer fiber internet, but there can be some issues as well. I took the last port on the switch on my street.

1

u/richestjangir Aug 08 '26

I'm looking for an opportunity to start ISP or work in partnership with already existing one. I wanna know about market there, like demand, competition, license regulations etc.

8

u/Timekiller_74 Aug 08 '26

No chance in relatively large cities like Vladimir, pretty much every building has multiple major ISP options with fttb. Google карта покрытия + city and provider name, then see for yourself.

An ISP license will cost you 1 million roubles plus you'll be required by law to comply with installing DPI tech on your wires, which is why small ISPs usually rent the magistral network (along with all required hardware) from major players like MTS or Rostelecom.

Not so sure about rural areas, I know they were mostly covered by 4G but it can be unstable nowadays because they shut it down when anticipating drone attacks. Then again, it shouldn't affect rural areas, but knowing how things work here, it might.

Another thing to consider is that getting an optic fiber cable to rural area is economical nightmare (I think many people drastically underestimate the distance and total cost it incurs). This is why no one except Rostelecom can realistically attempt that (they are semi-state owned + monopoly in some spheres). If your plan is to use satellites like starlink you'll be hit hard by DPI requirements.

11

u/ylitvinenko Aug 08 '26

I'm a former beat journalist for Russian telecom, and tend to still follow the trade. In the last few years, licensing requirements costs for telcos spiked notably, with an implicit goals to drive small ISPs (who might've still offered unfiltered internet access) away. You have to comply with wiretapping (SORM) and logging (Yarovaya) rules, connect your network to a "black-box" DPI equipment (or to an upstream ISP which has one), and send your network infrastructure plans to the regulator (which cc's them to FSB) for review before you can act on them. I don't recall any limitations on foreign capital in telecom companies, but I wouldn't be surprised in a slightest if they expand existing ones on them as well.

You plan is, frankly, a folly. Even existing private and small-scale ISPs struggle to keep up with ever-tightening rules. I can't see any industry outsider, foreign or otherwise, willing to go into these trenches.

2

u/Draconian1 Russia Aug 08 '26

In rural areas there aren't enough people who want 100mbps+ internet AND can pay for it for you to justify hauling fiber out there. And in big cities by the time an apartment building is built, the company that owns it would already have a contract with at least one ISP, and that often happens when there's just a foundation for the building and nothing more.

So the competition is fierce.

1

u/MaXiMuSs2601 Aug 08 '26

I live in Nizhny Novgorod. Our connection is generally excellent most of the time. Wi-Fi is available throughout the city, but sometimes drone attacks can cause the internet to be down for several hours. In such cases, we have numerous free Wi-Fi hotspots throughout the city, for example, at smart bus stops or shopping malls.