Cellular coverage is 92% in Bashkiria

The coverage of residents of Bashkiria with cellular communications is 92%, the head of the Ministry of Digital Development of the Republic, Gennady Razumikin, said at an operational meeting of the republic's government. “There are certain difficulties in inaccessible, mountainous areas and sparsely populated villages, but quite active work is being carried out there,” the minister noted.

The Republic is actively participating in the “Eliminating the Digital Divide” program to install cellular base stations in small settlements with a population of 100 to 500 people.

It is in such small villages in rural areas that about 40% of the total population lives. In total, the list includes 1,286 settlements in Bashkiria - this is the most extensive regional list. These villages are planned to be connected by 2030.

For 2022 and 2023, Bashkiria retains first place among all Russian regions in terms of the number of votes of residents for settlements included in the program. In 2022, 82 thousand participated in the voting, and 2023, the minister said almost 53 thousand Republic residents cast their votes.

This year, 25,826 votes were sent through the State Services portal, and 27,130 were sent by mail to the Ministry of Digital Development of Russia.

The leaders in the number of votes cast were in the Khaibullinsky, Karaidelsky, and Gafuriysky districts. The village of Novoshakhovo, Ermekeevsky district, became the champion regarding the number of votes cast.

As part of the “Bridging the Digital Divide 2.0” program, 4G (LTE) base stations were launched in 242 localities in 2023.

As Bashinform News Agency reported, in 2024, they planned to launch base stations in 50 villages selected during the voting process this year.

Author: Elina Akhmetova