The money will go to the Main Radio Frequency Center (GRChC), a body subordinate to Roskomnadzor, the state media and internet regulator. The GRChC operates the Automated System for Ensuring the Security of the Russian Internet Segment (ASBI), the filtering infrastructure at the center of the spending plan.
The earlier target of 32 billion rubles appeared in the national project "Data Economy." The draft does not explain why the costs have doubled. Press services for the Finance Ministry and the Digital Development Ministry did not respond to Forbes's request for comment. A source close to the Digital Development Ministry suggested the explanations in the draft law "have not yet been written in — they should be expected by the end of the year."
ASBI is built around technical means of countering threats (TSPU) installed on telecom operators' networks. The equipment filters traffic, blocks and throttles resources, and targets circumvention tools including VPNs. Experts estimate the cost increase is tied to higher prices for imported components because of sanctions and a global memory shortage: according to one specialist interviewed by Forbes, memory chips alone have risen in price four- to sixfold this year.
ASBI's geographic reach continues to expand. Alexei Amelkin, president of the Makatel telecom operators' association, said the equipment has yet to be installed on operators' networks in the occupied territories of Ukraine. Another driver of the cost increase is traffic volume: filtering constantly growing data flows requires more powerful processors, RAM and storage.
Targets set for the GRChC were reported earlier: by 2030 it is to achieve 92% effectiveness in blocking VPNs and route 98% of all traffic in the Russian internet segment through TSPU.