The industry development aim is to ensure the maximal satisfaction of demands for information and communication services for all categories of users.

The priority directions of the telecommunication development in 2007-2010 are as follows:

1. managerial and legal reform of the market of the telecommunication services aimed at competition development and preparation to work in the conditions of the Republic of Belarus joining the World Tourism Organization;
2. expansion of the stationary and mobile telecommunication networks, prevention from unauthorized access, reliable operation in emergency situations and military state;
3. expansion of the data transmission services in the stationary and mobile telecommunication networks and arrangement of the conditions for transfer to the packet switching telecommunication networks for rendering the telecommunication services with broadband access technologies and ensuring the necessary quality of service;
4. technical modernization of the public telecommunication networks by means of replacement of the analog switching equipment for the digital one with maximal use of the equipment produced by domestic enterprises;
5. application of the new information technologies and telecommunication technologies, including by means of the joint research and development works by the domestic scientific and industrial organizations;
6. improvement of the regulatory legal basis and technical normative legal acts as regards the arrangement and ensuring the communication and television and radio broadcasting, operation stability and security of the public telecommunication network, communication means, networks and units.

In accordance with the directions stated the following tasks shall be performed:

1. to increase the capacity of the telephone exchanges in the local telephone networks and to install the all-purpose coin-box telephones;
2. to increase the capacity of the digital toll  / international stations, tandems and trunks;
3. to build the fiber-optic communication lines;
4. to increase the port capacity of Internet access for the national telecommunication operator;
5. to develop the data network infrastructure of the national telecommunication operator with consideration of broadband access technologies (including wireless one);
6. to modernize and improve the technical operation of telecommunication means;
7. to build the mobile cellular telecommunication network of the third generation;
8. to build the radio and television broadcasting stations;
9. to install the additional television and radio transmitters in the existing radio and television broadcasting stations;
10. to modernize the telecommunication information infrastructure of the national telecommunication operator and on its base to integrate of the information resources of the entities of the Ministry of Communication and Informatization;
11. to apply the telecommunication equipment produced in the Republic of Belarus in the public telecommunication network, in concordance with the Ministry of Industry, according to the technical capabilities of the equipment and the existing legislation of the Republic of Belarus;
12. to expand the range of the services rendered to the people;
13. to arrange the on-air ground-based digital television and radio broadcasting signal propagation;
14. to develop and modernize the cable and on-air cable television systems;
15. to ensure the transmission of television and radio broadcast programs to the television and radio broadcasting stations using the digital transmission systems;
16. to make radio frequency bands available for the development of on-air cable television systems;
17. to increase the number of the television programs transmitted in the cable and on-air cable television system;
18. to improve the quality of the services of the television program broadcasting;
19. to modernize the wire broadcasting means and systems.

The priority directions of the mail service development in 2006-2010 are as follows:

1. application of the up-to-date information technologies;
2. mechanization and automation of processing of items of mail;
3. logistics system optimization and modernization;
4. step-by-step transfer from the manual sorting of items of mail to mechanized processing;
5. full automation of the operator’s workplaces in local post offices;
6. complex control system for the mail enterprise integrating all the elements of the activities - from the initial information enter in the local post offices,  tracking system for items of mail till automated accounting and economical analysis complexes;
7. increase of the export of services due to the expansion of the list of the countries the remittances are exchanged with, and increase of the foreign trade volumes;
8. development of the express mail services;
9. development of the conventional mail services and application of new ones;
10. increase of the technical equipment level of the mail organizations;
11. improvement of the quality of the mail services;
12. further development of the financial services, including banking ones, rendered to the people.

The implementation of the program measures will enable to reach in 2010 the share of innovative products in the total volume of the shipped products - 17.5 per cent, the share of the certified products in the total production volume - 51.2 per cent, to make and certify the ISO quality management system in 10 enterprises, decrease the wear degree of the active part of the main industrial and productive means till 55 per cent, to increase the share of the equipment and tooling costs in the capital investments up to 71 per cent.

In accordance with the directions mentioned it is planned to build, restore and expand the mail enterprises, as well as to increase the technical equipment level of the mail organizations.

The up-to-date communication infrastructure available in the Republic of Belarus in view of the development of new information technologies, telecommunication and mail technologies enables to plan the following:

1. application of the service of the data-transmission services and telematic services on the base of the broadband access technologies, including wireless ones, allowing to configure the pass band for integration of the different types of traffic and to render the different services (for example, access to information resources, multimedia data streaming and others). The broad use of digital xDSL technology is planned. The services based on the wireless technologies will be developed in accordance with design and standardization of the international and national standards and compatibility of the equipment from the different suppliers;
2. development of the services on the base of Data Processing Centre - the full range of hosting services and maximal number of associative services;
3. the services for the right to use optical fibers and communication channels;
4. development of the conventional mail services and application of new ones on the base of up-to-date information and communication technologies.

At the present time in the Republic of Belarus four operators render the cellular mobile telecommunication services in GSM and IMT-MC-450 standards. The cellular mobile communication covers all the centers of regions and districts, large cities, towns with population over 4 thousand people and the territory of the free economic zones. This communication is now accomplishing to cover the main transport passages, all the points for the transport passage through the state border of the Republic of Belarus.

The development of the cellular mobile telecommunication networks will be aimed at the further coverage of the rural settlements, including agrarian towns, as well as at the improvement of the quality of such service rendering in the cities and along the international transport passages, the most important motor roads and the points for transport passages through the state border of the Republic of Belarus.  By the end 2010 the number of the cellular mobile telecommunication network users can amount to 8 million people at the least. As a result of competitive activity the users will be redistributed among GSM-standard operators.

The cellular mobile telecommunication network of the third generation 3G is planned to be made in the Republic of Belarus. The radio frequency bands 1885 - 2025 MHz and 2110 - 2200 MHz (hereinafter - “radix bands”) have been determined for future planning the mobile telecommunication IMT-2000-standard networks.

Reasoning from the competitive advantages of IMT-MC-450 standard technology, the operator BELCEL LTD JV will develop the high-speed Internet access service in priority manner. This technology will enable to take the leading position in this segment of cellular mobile telecommunication market. The number of BELCEL LTD JV telephone communication users will amount to 5 per cent of the cellular mobile telecommunication GSM-standard network users.

The development of the cable and on-air cable television systems in the territory of the Republic of Belarus will include both the expansion of the coverage area of the cable and on-air cable television systems and modernization (reconstruction) of these systems with a view to applying up-to-date television broadcasting technologies, including building of fiber coaxial and fiber optic distribution networks.

The development of the on-air broadcasting in the Republic of Belarus implies the application of digital DVB-T-standard broadcasting under the State Program for Digital Television and Radio Broadcasting Application in the Republic of Belarus till 2015 approved by the Resolution of the Council of Ministers of the Republic of Belarus of December 8, 2005 No.1406 (National Register for Legal Acts of the Republic of Belarus, 2005, No.195, 5/16908). The development of the analog television will be restricted as the processing of the applications for international coordination of the frequency assignments for analog television and registration in the International Telecommunications Union was stopped.

The rural telephone communication is planned to be developed in future. In order to increase the standard and quality of the rural population life, to revive the social and production infrastructure of villages, to organize the effective and stable agro-industrial production, the State Program for Village Revival and Development for 2005-2010 was adopted in the Republic of Belarus. This program states that by 2010 all rural settlements will be provided with stationary or cellular communication, to reach the minimal level of 26 telephones per 100 men. The priority direction for communication development in the rural area is to provide with the accessibility and high quality of the communication services. In order to solve these tasks, the following shall be performed:

1. to build the fiber optic communication lines to the agrarian towns as they are equipped with necessary facilities, this will enable to provide with the possibility to render the high-quality services, including high-speed Internet access;
2. to develop and modernize the telephone networks enabling to render the main and auxiliary telecommunication services;
3. to provide all the production, social and cultural and household facilities in the agrarian towns with stationary telephone communication means.

GIPROSVYAZ Scientific and Research Republican Unitary Enterprise in cooperation with the institutions of the National Academy of Sciences of Belarus, Ministry of Education and other public authorities of the Republic of Belarus will provide with the scientific grounds as regards the matters of telecommunication, building, radio-frequency resource, international activities, standardization, metrology, certification of communication means, etc.

In accordance with the Resolution of the Council of Ministers of the Republic of Belarus of November 30, 2005 No.1358 “On Some Measures for Development of Production of Telecommunication Means and Systems in the Republic of Belarus” (National Register for Legal Acts of the Republic of Belarus, 2005, No.192, 5/16879), AGAT Scientific and Research Republican Unitary Enterprise belonging to AGAT State Scientific and Research Association was designated as the main organization for the development of production of telecommunication means and systems in the Republic of Belarus, and the State Military-Industrial Committee together with the concerned was designated as the developer of the State Program for Establishment and Development of Radio Communication Means in the Republic of Belarus for 2005-2010 (the Resolution of the Council of Ministers of the Republic of Belarus “On the Concept for Establishment and Development of Radio Communication Means in the Republic of Belarus for 2005-2010 (National Register for Legal Acts of the Republic of Belarus, 2005, No.54, 5/15796)). At the present time this Program is being developed by the State Military-Industrial Committee together with the concerned public authorities.

Under the Resolution of the Council of Ministers of the Republic of Belarus of October 23, 2006 No.1396 (National Register for Legal Acts of the Republic of Belarus, 2006, No.182, 5/24106) the new list of the projects of the State Program for Informatization of the Republic of Belarus for 2003-2005 and till 2010 “Electronic Belarus” (hereinafter - the program “Electronic Belarus”) was adopted. New list of the projects is intended to be implemented in 2006-2010 and aimed at achievement of the final goal of the program “Electronic Belarus” (to create the uniform information space in the Republic of Belarus enabling to generate the conditions for increased effective operation of the economy, public and local management, provision with the rights for free search, transfer, distribution of the information about the economic and social development of the society. Several innovative projects related to creation of the application information systems intended to form “electronic government” and to be used in the actual economic sectors, including electronic commerce, are included in the program “Electronic Belarus”.

The total extent of financing for building of new productions in the existing enterprises and modernization of the existing productions in 2007 - 2010 will amount to 942,373.5 million, including out of the budget of the Republic of Belarus - 654,193.5 million rubles, out of the local budget - 9,203 million rubles, internal funds of the entities - 278,977 million rubles