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Stan C. Cramton
President and Chairman
of the Board, RTDC
русская версия »
In 1994 The Minsvyaz of Russia and the Russian Telecommunications Development Corporation (RTDC) established an organization for informal meetings between telecom professionals. The RTDC company had been established a year earlier by one of the leading telecommunications corporations of the USA — US West — in partnership with several Western investment organizations; the purpose of RTDC was to attract investments in the deve-lopment of telecom projects in Russia.
In those days only a few companies looked 10 years ahead, and no one could predict the scale of the telecommunications industry evolution in Russia. Nevertheless, Telecom Forum was intended to pursue important objectives, namely to support the formation of the Information Society in Russia capable to integrate into the Global Information Environment, facilitate top-level dialogue between its members on informatization and telecommunications issues, as well as to encourage dialogue between foreign telecommunications companies, the Minsvyaz of Russia and other public authorities — and, of course, with Russian enterprises operating throughout the country. It is difficult to estimate Telecom Forum activities in figures or reduce them to several specific indices. However, judging by the fact that the number of Telecom Forum associated members has exceeded 35, it can be said with confidence that all the ten years of the Partnership existence were laden with fascinating events and presentations of top level projects. The past ten years show that the founders of Telecom Forum have proved to be far more successful in their undertaking than it was ori-ginally expected.
Telecom Forum provides a facility for the Partnership members to establish and maintain business and friendly contacts, share their experience and keep abreast of what is going on or is being planned in the industry.
The telecommunications industry in Russia is rapidly evolving, its growth rate is one of the highest worldwide and its customers are becoming more and more particular about the quality of telecommunications and service packages.
Considering the deployment of new technologies intended to satisfy quickly growing needs of the Russian business, I am convinced that in future telecommunications will still remain one of the most beneficial industries for investments. Moreover, the ongoing evolution of the telecommunications and IT sector will contribute to the improvement of the investment climate in the country on the whole and help Russia to attract major investment companies of the world in future.
Telecom Forum, aiming to support any efforts of public authorities in the sphere of telecommunications and information technologies to create a favourable investment climate, has played — and undoubtedly will keep playing in future — an important part in such processes, being a professional club where business contacts are established, important issues are resolved and new ideas are generated.
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