“Aurora” dreams of money – Newspaper Kommersant No. 213 (7414) of 11/17/2022

The implementation of the mobile ecosystem on the operating system (OS) “Aurora” will require 480 billion rubles. until 2030, Kommersant learned. The project for the development of the OS owned by Rostelecom implies the release by Russian manufacturers of about 70 million smartphones on it. This is necessary because of the threat of disconnecting the Russian Federation from Google and Apple services, according to Rostelecom. Meanwhile, market participants note that, based on the documents on the project, we can talk primarily about contract manufacturing of smartphones in China, and not in Russia.

“Kommersant” got acquainted with the passport of the project for the development of the Aurora OS (owned by Rostelecom) and the creation of a national mobile ecosystem. Rostelecom sent the document to the Development Competence Center (CCR) “Operating Systems”, which is supervised by the Ministry of Digital Development.

The cost of the project, according to the passport, is estimated at 480 billion rubles.

It duplicates information from the Aurora OS development strategy, about which “Kommersant” told 27th October. In particular, it is said that Rostelecom is proposing, in partnership with Russian electronics manufacturers, to release a wide range of devices (smartphones and tablets), including consumer ones, based on the Aurora OS – about 70 million units in total. F+, GS Group, Research Institute “Masshtab” and others are named among the partners.

The passport also specifies that its funding will be provided from the budget of the federal project “Digital Public Administration” (TsGU) and from the national program “Digital Economy” (CE RF). The funds will be used to create and increase infrastructure, technical support for the ecosystem, purchase of devices, installation of OS and software, salaries to employees, and so on. The OS development strategy, which Kommersant had previously read, specified that funding could be provided through concessions with authorities or distributors (for the population), among which telecom operators were indicated. In the first year after the implementation of the project, the expected sales revenue will be 28 billion rubles, follows from the passport.

The document says that it is approved by the government. As a source familiar with the mechanism of work of the Central Committee of the Kyrgyz Republic explained to Kommersant, this is an interim solution: “The passport goes to the Ministry of Digital Development, which sends the document to the expert working group, it makes conclusions and recommendations. Then the project is submitted for consideration by the grant committee, the role of which is performed by the Russian Foundation for the Development of Information Technologies (RFRIT). Its decision is sent to the government commission for digital development.” Alexei Smirnov, head of the TsKR for Operational Systems, confirmed to Kommersant that the working group had approved the project. One of Kommersant’s interlocutors added that such a status “does not yet mean that the project will definitely receive funding.” The Open Mobile Platform company (the developer of the Aurora OS) declined to comment. The Ministry of Digital Transformation and the Ministry of Industry and Trade did not respond to Kommersant.

Rostelecom emphasized that the project is necessary due to “the threat of disconnecting organizations and citizens of Russia from the mobile ecosystems of Google and Apple, as well as the disappearance of important Russian applications and services from official stores.”

The company added that the amount of investment given in the passport is a “high-level estimate”. Now the funds are going towards foreign manufacturers, and if there is a national mobile ecosystem, they can be redirected to the development of domestic ones, Rostelecom is sure.

The GS Group is interested in the project and is ready to launch production. They added that they had already received a request from the Ministry of Industry and Trade about the ability to produce mobile devices. “The company has repeatedly received requests and is interested in such significant projects,” says Vladislav Ivanov, head of the Scale Research Institute (part of the Avtomatika concern of the Ruselectronics holding of the Rostec State Corporation). He recalled that the research institute already has a smartphone running the Aurora OS (AYYA T1), and it is planned to “expand the line”.

However, a top manager of one of the Russian electronics manufacturers draws attention to the wording of the project: “According to the passport data, the business plan is for partners to provide the required number of mobile devices, the technical characteristics of which will be displayed in procurement tenders.” According to Kommersant’s interlocutor, this means that “Russian smartphones” will be produced in China or, at best, assembled in the Russian Federation from Chinese components. The role of Rostelecom, he believes, “will be in the development and porting of the OS and the installation of software in accordance with the norms of Russian legislation.”

Timofey Kornev, Nikita Korolyov