NIZHNY NOVGOROD, February 16 (RIA Novosti) - Russian President Vladimir Putin ordered the government Thursday to extend telephone lines to all residential areas in the country within three years.
"The government must settle this problem within three years after having considered the possibility of converting the radio frequency spectrum for civilian needs," the president said. "Despite the annual growth of 30% in this industry, more that 40,000 residential areas do not have telephones. This is absolutely unacceptable in the 21st century."
