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Internet
access, traveling with a laptop in Russia
Contents: wi-fi wireless internet -
mobile internet access
- internet cafes - ADSL broadband and LAN - dial-up internet
access
Internet
access is readily available either via dialup (from a hotel
or an apartment) or through internet cafes. According to
statistics, more than 14 Mln Russians are online (that is about
10% of
the population), most of whom are from Moscow (30%) and St.
Petersburg (20%). If you are interested to see what the Russian
internet (also called RuNet) has to offer, take a look at our
Useful Links section.
Wi-Fi
Access (Wireless Internet Hotspots) in Russia
Wi-Fi
enables people with their own computers to connect wirelessly
on the internet. It is also known as wireless internet
or 812.11.
To be able to use this standard you need special wireless network card installed
in your computer. Most modern notebooks have it pre-installed (including all
Apple PowerBooks equipped with Airport or PC computers equipped with Intel Centrino
technology), if not, it can be purchased for about $50-$100 at any computer store.
A few months ago we wrote that this technology is not yet wide spread in Russia.
Things have changed and there are now dozens wifi hotspots in Moscow, St. Petersburg
and other major cities in Russia. Many of them are free, some charge $5-$10 per
hour.
Here's a list of some , the
average access price is $10 / hour, however, many of them are free. For a more
detailed list, see Moscow Guide / WiFi Hotspots
in Moscow
TGI Friday's: A typical American restaurant famous for its
cocktails. Lunchs for $10.
Tverskaya #18/2 (next to Kodak Cinema, metro Pushkinskaya or Tverskaya - center),
Leninsky prospekt #1/2, 1 (metro Oktyabrskaya - center), Zemlyanoy Val, #33,
Garibaldi, #23 (metro Novye Cheremushki - south Moscow). Opened 12.00 to 24.00
daily. Provider: Yandex,
Price: Free
Boarhouse: A popular hang-out for expats. Zemlyanoy Val, 26A
(opposite metro Kurskaya). Provider: EWi-Fi.Net,
Price: Free
TGI
Friday's restaurant at Shermetyevo 2 airport (2nd floor, departures
hall), Opened 24 hours. Provider: Tascom,
Price: $10 / hour
Domodedovo airport (international departures hall, 2nd floor, VIP hall),
opened 24 hours. Provider: Tascom,
Price: $10 / hour
Mariott Hotels (the access is purchased at the reservation desk, access
available in all Mariott hotels, reception, lobby, rooms). Provider: Moscom
Coffee Shops Coffemania (trendy coffee-shops chain). Provider: Moscom Price:
$10 / hour, $70 for 300Mb or $110 for 1.5Gb
1. Rozhdestvenka street, building 6/9/20
2. Bolshaya Nikitskaya street, building 13/6
3. Kudrinskaya Plozhad', building 46/54.
Scandinavia Restaurant (an upscale and expensive restaurant).
Provider: Moscom,
Price: $10 / hour, $70 for 300Mb or $110 for 1.5Gb.
Palashevsky per, #7. (metro Tverskaya)
See a list of all Moscow internet hotspots.
Here's a list of ,
access cards can be bought online or on locations. For a more detailed list,
please, see St. Petersburg Guide / WiFi
Hotspots in St. Petersburg
Cafe Saigon (Nevsky Prospekt, #7). Provider: Quantum,
Price: $5 / hour
PitStop entertainment club (Sadovaya st., #12). Provider:
PeterStar, Price: n/a
Hotel St. Petersburg (Pirogovskaya emb., #2) Provider: Quantum,
Price: $5 / hour
Hotel Grand Europe (Mikhailovskaya st., #1/7). Provider: PeterStar,
Price: n/a
Grand Hotel Emerald (Suvorovsky lane, #18). Provider: PeterStar,
Price: n/a
Pulkovo
1 & Pulkovo 2 Airports. Provider: PeterStar, Price: n/a
Morskoy Vokzal (Main Ferry Peer, Moskoy Slavy st., #1. Available on
the 2nd and 7th floors, and in Morskoy Vokzal hotel) Provider: Quantum,
Price: $5 / hour
Journalists House (St. Petersburg journalist press-centre:
Nevsky Prospekt, #70). Provider: Quantum,
Price: $5 / hour
See a list of all internet hotspots
in St. Petersburg.
If you're interested in finding wi-fi hotspots in other Russian cities,
please, see our Destinations guide.
The hotspots are usually listed in Practicalities section of the city guides,
if there
are any in the city.
Mobile Internet Access
(GPRS and 3G Networks) in Russia
Russian
mobile operators offer very cheap GPRS internet access service
with speeds up to 56 kbit, so it's better to get a Russian
SIM --
you'll
save loads of money on roaming charges. The main mobile operators
in Russia are MTS, BeeLine and Megafon. Megafon has the best
GPRS coverage throughout the country (however, not in all regions).
In big cities, such as Moscow, St. Petersburg, or Novosibirsk,
you
can use
GPRS
with
any mobile
provider.
3G (UMTS) networks are not yet launched in Russia, but there are talks it's
going to happen by 2006.
If you are in a region, which doesn't have GPRS, you can still use GSM dial-up
service.
You might find the Mobile
Connect software (for PC and Mac) by Novamedia quite useful, as it allows
to connect on the internet with a mobile and a laptop easily in any country
and we are using it ourselves.
Also, for higher connection
speeds you can try the OnSpeed service,
which claims to be able to make connections up to 8 times faster.
Internet
Cafes in Russia
Internet
cafes in Russia are usually opened 24 hours a day and offer
many additional services like scanning, saving data (disks,
cds,
zips), business
conferences etc. One hour of connection usually costs about
30R-60R ($1-$2 US), discounts are available during the night
and for students.
Most of the bigger internet cafes will not allow you to connect
your own laptop, however, if you find a smaller cafe that is
not part of a chain, then you might be able to go online with
your own computer.
There are many internet cafes in Moscow and St.Petersburg, especially in the
center. There are internet cafes also almost in every other Russian city or
town (Novgorod, Samara, Novosibirsk, Ekaterinburg, Irkutsk etc.), but they
are harder to find.
See a list of internet cafes in WayToRussia.Net
city guides on the web, in "Practicalities" section.
Below is a list of the most popular internet cafes in Moscow, St. Petersburg
and other major Russian cities.
Moscow: TIME ONLINE Internet café.
There are 200 computers and you can copy data to the disks,
cdroms, zip drives, print out your things, scan pictures, take
a photograph on digital camera, copy from a flash memory card to
the web or cd rom. Time Online is located right in the city center,
next to the Kremlin & Red Square. English speaking staff. Credit
cards are accepted.
A small appliance store and an inexpensive cafe at the entrance.
Address: "Okhotny Ryad trade center" - Manezhnaya
ploshchad. Phone: 363-0060. Internet: http://www.timeonline.ru
How to get: metro Okhotny Ryad (red line), just outside the e in Manezh underground
shopping mall, ground floor.
Open: 24 hour a day
Saint Petersburg: QUO VADIS? Internet café.
Located in the very center of St.Petersburg, this café seems
to be one of the best in the city. Services: internet access, printing,
scanning, copying, CD recording, fax, IP telephony (US, Europe:
$0.20 / min, Moscow: $0.05 / min). There's also a free library
(opened 10.00-22.00) with Russian and international press and books.
Address: St. Petersburg, Nevsky Prospekt,
#24, next to Griboedova channel on the opposite side from Kazansky
cathedral, metro Nevsky Prospekt. Contact: 311-8011. Internet:
http://www.quovadis.ru
Open: 24 hours
CafeMax internet cafes in Moscow and St. Petersburg offer
special conference room and business services, such as video conferences,
separate internet access rooms. http://www.cafemax.ru
NetCity internet cafes in Moscow offer special
VIP rooms, where you can browse the internet in private. http://www.netcity.ru
Novosibirsk: 24h Internet Club.
Doesn't have any name, located in a pedestrian subway
and usually there are many gamers inside. There's also a cafe with
light snacks, drinks, and beer.
Address: Novosibirsk, Centrum, Trudovaya
St., 1 (just behind the fishing equipment shop in the courtyard
- along Vokzalnaya
Magistral st). Tel.: +7 (3832) 22-55-96
Open: 24 hours, break from 7 till 9 in the morning.
Irkutsk: EPICENTER Internet Café.
This is a new internet cafe located at the crossing
of Karla Marksa st. (main street in Irkutsk) and Sukhe-Batora
st.
The connection is quite fast. There's also a gaming hall, so
kids are shouting a bit too loud, but it doesn't disturb much.
Address: Sukhe-Batora st., #18, Internet:
http://www.epicentre.ru/
Open: 24 hours.
ADSL
Broadband Internet and LAN Networks
High-speed
(broadband) internet services are provided by LAN (local area
networks) and ADSL providers almost in any Russian city. Moscow
and St. Petersburg also have cable TV providers that offer
internet connection.
To get connected to ADSL, you should contact the provider
and give them your address. Russia is a big country, so different
telecom companies will be providing connections in your area,
depending on where you live. Within two weeks they're going
to set up the connection (which usually costs about $50-$100
with equipment, if it is needed), and you will be able to start
using the internet.
The prices for traffic vary, but most ADSL providers offer
1Gb traffic with 512 Kbit speed for $30-$50 per month. There
are no long-term contracts, in most cases you can cancel
your subscription
with
1-month
notice.
Most LAN providers can set up the connection faster (they
will just put the Ethernet cable through to your apartment),
but the charges will
be higher than ADSL and you will need an Ethernet card already
installed
in
your
computer.
However,
this
may be a good option if you don't have a landline in your
apartment
or
don't want to use ADSL for some reason.
The main ADSL provider in Moscow is Stream.Ru.
They offer connections up to 8 Mbit/sec and the quality
is quite good. Both USB and Ethernet modems can be used, but
if you want it to be compatible with a Mac it's better to go
for a slightly more expensive Ethernet version. For a list of
other providers in Moscow, see Moscow
Internet Access page.
For a list of ADSL providers in other cities, please, read the
Practicalities section in the city
guides.
Dial-Up
Internet Access
The 5-pin
telephone plugs are used in Russia. However, a lot of plugs have also a socket
for standard RJ American plug. If not, the adaptor is available in any appliance
store and costs not more than $1.
To have a dial up access (from a hotel or an apartment), the
easiest way is to buy an internet card, which is sold in
many telecom shops and
supermarkets.
You need to make sure that the card you buy has the local
access number in the city you will be connecting from.
The most known
internet providers are Russia-On-Line (modem access number
in the main
Russian
cities) and MTU-Intel (in Moscow and St. Petersburg). One
hour costs 30R ($1 US), the maximum connection speed you'll
get is 33600 bps. Before connecting,
be
careful to set the dialling mode to pulse (NOT tone), and
dial the ISP access
number without any codes and prefixes (7 digits in Moscow
and St. Pete). Also, it's quite likely that you'll need
to dial
more than once, because
the lines
are often busy.
After you bought the card, you should login (as a guest) on
the server of the provider and type in the serial number and
the
code of your card. The servier will confirm your subscription
and after you connect again, you will be able to start
using the internet.
Questions,
Comments?
Please,
go to our Russia Talk Lounge Forums.
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