“Aurora” overboard – Newspaper Kommersant No. 5 (7450) dated 01/13/2023

The Ministry of Digital Transformation excluded funds in the amount of 22 billion rubles, which were planned to be directed to the development of the Aurora OS in the next two years, from its digital transformation program. The funds were intended to subsidize the development of applications for the OS and the adaptation of mobile devices for it, but the government decided that this was not appropriate. The authorities expect to launch a new Android-based mobile OS in Russia, and use Aurora in the public sector. Rostelecom, which owns it, promises to develop the operating system at its own expense.

“Kommersant” got acquainted with the departmental digital transformation program (VPST) of the Ministry of Digital Development for 2022-2024 (published on the portal of the federal state information system for the coordination of informatization (FSIS KI) on January 10). It follows from the document that the Ministry of Digital Development plans to allocate more than 22 billion rubles. on “measures to support the development of the domestic mobile operating system “Aurora””. However, Kommersant’s interlocutor, who is familiar with the situation, claims that this is an incorrect version of the document – a similar VPTS for 2023–2025 is relevant, in which funds for Aurora are not included. Kommersant discovered that such a document was also published on the FSIS KI portal, but on December 21, 2022.

The budget to support Aurora has been sequestered, assures Kommersant’s interlocutor, who is familiar with the situation. Initially, it was supposed to lay a budget not for the development of the Aurora OS itself, but for ensuring the development of mobile services for it and the adaptation of partner devices, another source of Kommersant clarifies: “This is, for example, mobile antivirus and office software and other services. The Ministry of Digital Development confirmed that the approved budget does not provide for financing of the OS “Aurora”: “The project will be developed at the expense of the developer.”

Rostelecom owns 75% in the Votron and Open Mobile Platform companies developing Aurora OS. The operator redeemed the shares in March 2018 from the structures of businessman Grigory Berezkin for 3.3 billion rubles. At the end of 2019, the operator wrote off RUB 2.3 billion as a loss. investment in the project.

Rostelecom is developing the Aurora OS at its own expense and plans to continue working in this direction, a representative of the operator assured Kommersant. The funds pledged in FSIS KI to support Aurora were also to be used to adapt application software, including the app store, to the OS, says a Kommersant source in the mobile development market: “It was supposed to allocate subsidies to vendors, but in the end it was decided that it is inappropriate.”

According to the CEO of Factory5 (developing industrial software) Denis Kasimov, 22 billion rubles. within two years, it would have been too much to adapt the software to the Aurora OS: “And the transfer itself would take more time – at least three to four years.” As for the development and production of devices, the amount indicated in the document, in his opinion, will, on the contrary, be insufficient.

Earlier, the government included the Rostelecom project to create a national mobile ecosystem on the Aurora OS by 2030 in the roadmap for the development of the New System-wide Software until 2030. The cost of the project, which includes the release by partners of 70 million mobile devices for all market segments, was estimated by the operator at 480 billion rubles. until 2030, but funding has not been approved (see Kommersant of December 28).

At the end of 2022, it became known that the Ministry of Digital Development wants to involve a consortium of developers in the development of the domestic mobile ecosystem: it is assumed that VK, Yandex, Sberbank and Rostelecom will create a joint venture that will develop a new mobile OS based on the Android open source code (see. “Kommersant” of December 30). At the same time, Aurora OS will be used exclusively in the public sector.

The allocation of funds for adapting applications to the Aurora OS, even exclusively for government needs, is inappropriate, the source of Kommersant in the IT sector believes, as well as the participation of Rostelecom in the project to adapt open Android for the new Russian OS: “Almost everyone works with Android applications, why it is impossible to make a more secure Android environment for the public sector is not clear.

Timofey Kornev