President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and representatives of the largest communications providers discussed the acceleration of high-quality Internet and communication coverage of all parts of Ukraine. In particular, they discussed the issue of providing communications to small towns, passenger trains of Ukrzaliznytsia and roads that are being built in the framework of the Great Construction program.
"Currently, there are 5,800 small towns in Ukraine with no communication. I see it myself when I go to these towns. It's not a secret that on some roads, people have no connection at all for half an hour. We need to change this, and change faster," Volodymyr Zelenskyy said.
The President reminded that in July 2019 he signed Decree № 497 "On some measures to improve access to mobile Internet". To implement it, mobile phone providers signed a memorandum with the government in Mariupol in the autumn, the purpose of which is to ensure maximum coverage of the territory of Ukraine by mobile networks of the fourth and fifth generations, and to provide broadband access to mobile Internet. The President stressed that he would like to see the full implementation of this decree sooner.
"The statistics for April are very gratifying - for the first time mobile broadband Internet access appeared in 870 inhabited localities with a population of 390 thousand people, and an additional provider appeared in 550 more inhabited localities. It's possible! Let's move forward at a fast pace," the Head of State said.
The parties discussed the necessary legislative initiatives to speed up mobile communication coverage, the need for cooperation with local authorities, as well as the possibility of developing public-private projects in this direction.
"Life has changed, it has gone online more: we order a lot online - both pharmaceuticals and food. Therefore, I would like us to accelerate the pace of high-quality coverage of our country. I understand that technologically it is probably difficult to do, but you see that such infections and such challenges are not going to wait for our plans. The country needs to be connected not only by road infrastructure, but also by virtual infrastructure," the President concluded.