President Vladimir Putin instructed the government to allocate 116 billion rubles from the federal budget for the creation of a Russian satellite constellation for high-speed Internet access. Funds for the implementation of this project will be allocated in the period from 2025 to 2030.
The head of state expects a government report on this instruction by December 15 and then annually.
The purpose of creating a satellite constellation in low Earth orbit is to provide Russians with Internet from anywhere in the country. Satellite Internet has a number of advantages over traditional wired and wireless network access technologies, including speed, reliability and low signal latency.
Starlink vs. «Sphere»
SpaceX, owned by businessman Elon Musk, began work on the Starlink global satellite system to provide high-speed broadband Internet access in 2015. The first group, which included 60 prototype satellites, was launched in May 2019.
Then an unofficial race began between Roscosmos and SpaceX. In Russia, the meme «How do you like this, Elon Musk?» appeared on this topic, inviting the owner of the American company to evaluate the developments of our specialists.
The Russian analogue of Starlink is called «Sphere». The first of its devices is the Skif-D demonstration satellite, which is successfully undergoing tests in space.