ADSL to remain popular in Russia's regions

Despite competition from ISPs that connect users to the Internet via Ethernet networks, ADSL will still remain popular in Russia for a long time, Russian market players believe. Yet estimates of the period of sustained demand for ADSL vary from 3 to 5 years. ADSL providers themselves are more optimistic, believing that most subscribers do not need the speed of Ethernet connections, while the low speed of outgoing data from the subscriber is often higher than the data transfer restrictions set by the receiving server. Analysts also hold out hopes for the wireless access market, but it could be years before wireless services reach end users. At the same time, mobile internet access will account for a mere 6 percent of broadband connections in Russia.