Data task: an Internet speed measurement service will appear on Gosuslugi
In December, a service for measuring Internet speed will appear in the Gosuslugi application, Izvestia learned. The measurement data will be available to end users and simultaneously transmitted to the authorities to monitor the quality of coverage throughout Russia and work with operators to improve it. There are measurement services created by companies and departments in the country, but so far the vast majority have used the American SpeedTest, experts say. In the summer, he was blocked for transferring data about Russian communication networks abroad, on the basis of which cyber attacks can be planned. However, this is not the only service that transmits sensitive information abroad, experts add.
Who will receive data on the speed of Internet access in the Russian Federation
A new service for measuring Internet speed will appear in the Gosuslugi application in December. It will work on the basis of the domestic Megabitus software integrated into the state portal, a source close to the Ministry of Finance told Izvestia. According to him, this is the first such measurement service launched on one of the most popular Russian state portals.
A special section will appear in the application where users will be able to measure Internet access speed and data delay time (ping) on their smartphone, explained Denis Kuskov, CEO of the company with the same name. According to him, work on the integration of the solution into Gosportal began back in 2024. The service will allow assessing the quality of mobile and wired Internet for personal and work use, and for government agencies it will provide data collection on locations with insufficient communication levels that require improvement, he added.
— Depersonalized data of measurements of the quality of Internet access from the Gosuslug application will be transmitted to the Ministry of Finance. The authorities will be able to monitor its changes in real time and dynamics and, together with operators, carry out various measures to increase it. The user can send a one—time request or, by enabling a special option, take measurements from his device regularly, " he told Izvestia.
T2 and MTS are aware of this initiative, the companies told Izvestia. MTS believes that the introduction of domestic service in the market is long overdue.
— The government, citizens and businesses are interested in accessing a unified and unified picture of the parameters in the domestic mobile and fixed broadband access (broadband) market. But it is important that the parameters of the service are clear, transparent and verifiable, and the data displayed in it is correct and verifiable," the operator's press service added.
Integration into Gosuslugi should ensure secure storage, processing and transmission of data, MTS believes.
Izvestia sent a request to the Ministry of Finance.
Why do users, businesses, and the government need online measurements?
Until now, Russians had access to measurement services created by digital companies and agencies, but the vast majority of Russians used SpeedTest, developed by the American company Ookla. In the summer of 2025, Roskomnadzor blocked access to it. The agency explained its blocking by the fact that the service collects data that can be used for cyber attacks on Russian communications networks and companies.
SpeedTest indeed transmitted extremely sensitive data abroad for Russian communications specialists, which could later be used to interfere with the operation of networks, said Igor Bederov, head of the information and analytical research department at T.Hunter. But for uncoordinated transfer of data abroad that could harm Russian citizens, thousands of services are blocked, the names of which are often little known to a wide range of users, he added. For example, these are services for "punching" data on citizens, Igor Bederov said.
Instagram Facebook, Instagram (these social networks belong to the Meta company, which is recognized as extremist and banned in Russia), Twitter (X), Viber and others were previously blocked in Russia, he added.
Telecom market participants, government officials and experts consider the emergence of a new public service timely. The appearance of the measurement service on the Gosuslugi platform will undoubtedly make it as replicated as possible, Vimpelcom believes.
"It is important that a comprehensive assessment of the customer service includes not only measuring the data download speed, but also taking into account packet transmission delay and data upload speed," the company noted.
According to Pyotr Tolstoy, Deputy Chairman of the State Duma, who oversees the Committee on Information Policy, Information Technologies and Communications, the creation of a domestic Internet quality measurement system focused on solving national problems can only be welcomed. Not only the relevant ministry or business structures are interested in its appearance, but also the legislative power, since any decisions made must be based on objective data on the state of the telecom industry, he told Izvestia.
— Rostelecom is actively developing its own connection speed verification service qms.ru The importance of such a tool is only increasing," the company noted. — The availability of an alternative source of information is important not only for users, but also for the regulator, it is a matter of reliability, control and healthy competition.
The emergence of such system services will help not only to evaluate the connection parameters, but also become an additional source of analytics that allows making decisions for the development of digital infrastructure, according to Megafon.
According to Leonid Konik, a partner at ComNews Research, measuring Internet speed is of interest to operators as a tool for promoting services: the speed race in the market has long been a marketing tool. Many providers promise users speeds of 100 Mbit/s, 300 Mbit/s, and some even claim gigabit speeds.
However, subscribers evaluate the quality of the Internet primarily based on the user experience when watching videos. If a movie, series, clip, or other video content is played without interruption, the subscriber is satisfied. Thus, 100 Mbps, which is actually provided by any fixed access provider in Russia, is more than enough for 99.9% of users, he added.
Cellular networks have lower speeds — the average in Russia is 25-35 Mbit/s in the direction of the subscriber (downlink), but they are also sufficient for the needs of the vast majority of private users, the expert concluded.
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