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MOSCOW, April 9 Russian Big Four operators said that they are working to ensure uninterrupted communications on all main routes, but are experiencing difficulties in carrying out work and are counting on for state support.
On Monday, Russian President Vladimir Putin instructed the government to take measures to ensure uninterrupted communications on roads, especially those that are part of international transport corridors. A source in the telecom market explained to RIA Novosti that construction at these sites is complicated by the fact that sometimes they do not have the ability to connect to electricity or the Internet, as well as place communication equipment. 
“MTS is consistently investing in the development of communication infrastructure on federal and regional roads… The main problems in solving this problem are difficulties with connecting to power grids and with access to places for placing communication infrastructure in the right-of-way of highways, as well as the costs of organizing technological congresses” , — the company reported.
According to the operator, industry participants will have to work to provide communications to sections of roads in sparsely populated and remote regions of the North, Siberia, and the Far East, but in some locations the cost of supplying electricity can reach several hundred million rubles; the industry does not have the resources for such expenses.
«Due to restrictions on the construction of supports in the right-of-way, operators place them away from the roads, which worsens the coverage. We count on government support in these matters,» MTS added.
In turn, VimpelCom said that it is taking an active part in the implementation of the program to provide cellular coverage to federal highways, however, “when carrying out work, operators are faced with a number of difficulties, which require government assistance to overcome.” 
Thus, the operator said that it is difficult to legally determine the procedure for placing antenna-mast communication structures in the right-of-way of highways, ensuring power supply to communication facilities away from populated areas and along highways, as well as organizing access roads to communication facilities along federal roads.
At the same time, the M-12 (to Kazan) and M-11 highways are covered with an LTE network, and work is currently underway to improve the 4G network on these roads.
The Tele2 operator is also experiencing difficulties in ensuring uninterrupted communication, but said that it has completely covered the new M-12 Vostok highway to Kazan with an LTE network, and the Pilar tower company is constructing antenna mast structures along the M-4 highway and has begun planning work on the construction of an automatic station in the interests of all operators along the M-11 “Bypass of Tver” section under construction.
«At the end of 2020, we covered the M-11 highway with a 4G network, where we installed about 100 base stations. And in 2021 and 2022, we equipped an additional 744 kilometers of the route from Moscow to Novorossiysk with LTE (M-4 Don). To date, we have provided coverage of the M-12 highway to Kazan, and as the construction of the highway to Yekaterinburg progresses, we are also covering the finished sections with stable communications and high-speed Internet,” Megafon shared.