According to him, as of early 2003, there were 17 million mobile phone users in Russia, whereas as of January 1, 2004, their number increased to 36 million, and by July 1 to 60 million.
This September, the increase accounted for 3.4 million.
By the year-end, 40% of Russians will have mobile phones, said Reiman.
"Apparently, the 2004 statistics will suggest record high figures in the development of mobile communications - $7.6 billion," he added.
Reiman remarked that the number of mobile phone users was growing most in the regions. He recalled that the number of mobile phones in Russia exceeded the amount of landline phones this year.
According to the minister, 95 out of 100 Moscow residents have mobile phones, and 76 out of 100 in St. Petersburg.
As for the legal aspect of using the Internet, the minister noted that it had to be regulated by the law on the media.
"It would not be a good idea to solve the problem with additional laws. It is not the Internet that needs regulation but the legal aspects of relations between suppliers and consumers of information. The law on the media should stipulate responsibility of information suppliers, i.e. those who provide the information subsequently published in the Internet," Reiman said.
In his opinion, the Internet is the same means of providing information as television or wire radio. "If we try to regulate information technologies, we will never solve the problem," the minister asserted.
