Prospects for the development of telecommunications the North Caucasian Federal District
The study is devoted to the actual problem of telecommunication development in the region with the maximum level of rural population and low average per capita level. Existing methodologies for evaluating telecommunication development not aligned with any income, nor with the level of need of business services, does not allow for a quantitative assessment of business development. The aim of the work is to assess the growth of revenue from telecommunication services to the population and legal entities in comparison with the economic indicators in Russia as a whole. The information of Rosstat and Minsvyaz on the subjects of the North Caucasus region was used as a starting point. The analysis was based on the data set for 2010-2016.The entered criteria “share of services in the average per capita income” and “share of services to legal entities in the gross regional product” allow unambiguously to carry out comparisons and to determine the directions of development of specific types of telecommunication services in the subjects of the region. The methodology of economic efficiency estimation on the basis of technical equipment of telecommunication devices is offered. A significant difference between the market of services of the region and the country is determined: the level of cellular communication development corresponds to the incomes of the population except for a significant imbalance in Dagestan and Kabardino-Balkaria; very high price with very low consumption of fixed Internet access and very low mobile price; almost not developed telephone service in the villages of Dagestan, Ingushetia, the Chechen Republic; extremely low level of television services - in five subjects enjoy free channels at a very low level of development of cable networks. The largest extensive development is defined in Dagestan - 56%, Stavropol - 15%, the Chechen Republic - 11%, while the growth of Internet access can provide 2/3 of the total growth. The market of telecommunication services in the region is the largest in the country: extensive development is possible by 40% to the existing level.