On 4th June 2009 a meeting between Ilya Filippovich Mikhalchuk, Head of the Administration of Arkhangelsk Oblast, and Vladimir Alexandrovich Akulich, General Manager of OJSC North-West Telecom, took place in Arkhangelsk . An Agreement of Cooperation between the Administration of Arkhangelsk Oblast and the Open Joint-Stock Company North-West Telecom was signed at the meeting.  

Cooperation of the parties in the field of creating and developing the telecommunication networks of the region and satisfying the demand of the residents of the North/White Sea Coast region for communication services as much as possible is the subject-matter of the Agreement . Interaction in the framework of the Agreement will make it possible to continue the work aimed at solving the tasks of informatization and development of telecommunications in northern areas that are difficult to access and in the rural areas of the region.  

It was stated that the most important areas of cooperation between the Administration of Arkhangelsk Oblast and OJSC N.W.Telecom were:

- implementing the state programmes for the development of telecommunication networks and services;

- implementing socially significant programmes and projects in Arkhangelsk Oblast ;

- selecting land plots for sites of capital construction of communication facilities of regional significance;

- developing programmes for communication network development in the region;

- implementing telecommunication networks development programmes in Arkhangelsk Oblast using advanced technologies;

- providing communication facilities and means for creating a united telecommunication network for the authorities of Arkhangelsk Oblast as part of developing the e-government of Arkhangelsk Oblast;

- ensuring the social component of decisions and actions taken in the field of telecommunications in Arkhangelsk Oblast;

- adapting standard technical design solutions meeting the up-to-date level, when using them in infocommunication projects of Arkhangelsk Oblast ;   

- preventing and detecting any criminal trespass on telecommunication facilities and lines situated in Arkhangelsk Oblast.

As Head of the Arkhangelsk Oblast Administration I. F. Mikhalchuk noted, "Close and efficient relations have been established between the Administration of Arkhangelsk Oblast and North-West Telecom since long ago. Today, thanks to the efforts of OJSC N.W.Telecom, the Internet is getting more and more available in the region. The main thing is that there is much to do in order to improve communication in our remote areas, first of all, in Mezen District. We count on getting help in implementing the E-Government project – here we need larger capacities, as specialists put it, hardware and machines that will ensure connection with the districts of the region and with big settlements and arrange a united on-line control system. I think that the things North-West Telecom is doing today are more expensive and important than money, as it is possible to ensure a correct and highly skilled control of processes, first of all, economic processes, only when we have information without delays".

All in all, starting from the year 2005, when the first Agreement of Cooperation was signed, OJSC N.W. Telecom invested about 3 billion roubles in the development and upgrading of the communication networks of Arkhangelsk Oblast, including more than one billion roubles in 2008 . Besides, 641 km of intraareal fibre-optic communication lines to district centres of the region were built in 2008 . The digitization level of the local telephone network of the Arkhangelsk Branch of OJSC N.W.Telecom grew by 8% for the year and amounted to 67% as of the start of 2009. The capacity of the multiservice network of the Company in Arkhangelsk Oblast was expanded by 42,600 xDSL ports. 491 all-in-one service payphone s were installed from January till June 2008, the total number of payphone s in Arkhangelsk Oblast and Nenets Autonomous District having amounted to 3408.

" In 2009 OJSC N.W. Telecom is planning to invest about 500 million roubles in the development and upgrading of the communication networks of Arkhangelsk Oblast. The bulk of the investment will be used for the construction of intraareal fibre-optic communication lines to district centres and for the development of new services; the multiservice network of OJSC N.W.Telecom in the region will be expanded by 61,500 xDSL ports.   The development of OJSC N.W.Telecom's business in the region is important both for us and for Arkhangelsk Oblast , as the company is one of the major tax-payers", General Manager of OJSC N.W.Telecom V. A.  Akulich noted at the meeting.