OREANDA-NEWS. May 14, 2010. COMSTAR – United TeleSystems (OAO COMSTAR-UTS, LSE: CMST), a major operator of integrated telecommunication services in Russia and CIS, takes part in the joint exposition at the social projects stand organized under the auspices of the RF Ministry of Communications & Mass Media as a part of the 22nd International Exhibition Svyaz-Expocomm-2010 (Moscow, 11-14 May).

The social projects stand is aimed at illustrating the general trends in development of social initiatives of companies operating in infocommunications, including the Internet user security area.

COMSTAR-UTS, as a major broadband Internet access service operator in Russia based on the number of subscriber homes that serves almost 1.3 million users all over the country, is implementing its comprehensive programme “Useful Internet. Safe Internet” in compliance with its corporate social responsibility Policy. This Programme provides for a variety of events aimed at informing subscribers on potential risks of the Global network usage and protection means, security threat prevention, and development of personal control and protection means for subscribers.

As a part of the special-purpose exposition of Mincomsvyaz of Russia, COMSTAR-UTS Group of Companies presented the following social projects: STREAM.Antivirus; Parental Control (an additional service for MGTS Internet users) and Children Online helpline.

STREAM.Antivirus is a state-of-the-art product to protect your personal computer against any possible network threats (malware and spyware, hackers, theft of confidential information, etc.) developed in cooperation with F-Secure, Finland. This software meets all requirements set for antivirus software of the latest generation. STREAM.Antivirus features high performance without system uploads, vast functionality (anti-spam, undesired-content filters and limitation of time spent online for children, etc.), simple installation and setting, ergonomic interface that makes it easy to run the software even for the beginners. A key feature is a free testing period, an opportunity to choose an optimal package of the required functions (from the basic to the full one) and monthly payments for the software usage and basic Internet access service against a single invoice.

Subscribers of MGTS (Moscow City Telephone Network), a member of COMSTAR-UTS Group, are offered with an additional Parental Control service, which has been included for free in all Internet price plans of MGTS since April 2009 and helps parents to organize a controlled access of their children to the Internet. Parents may activate a prohibition on the Internet access late in the evening (during the time for a sleep) or during daytime (when children should do their lessons or attend a school). Thus this service helps to follow pediatricians’ and psychologists’ recommendations regarding “communication” of children with computers. A weekly timetable is made on the Personal Account page where parents check the time for an access to be allowed or blocked. To re-access the Internet it is required to enter your PIN code assigned upon activation of the Parental Control service.

In order to prevent delinquent acts against young Internet users in Russia, a new Children Online Helpline was launched from the beginning of 2009, a joint project of the Friendly Runet Foundation, the Internet Development Fund, the Faculty of Psychology of the Moscow State University named after M.V. Lomonosov, implemented with the technical support of COMSTAR-UTS and MGTS and methodological support of the Federal Institute of Education Development. COMSTAR-UTS, as a long-distance communication operator, has provided a single federal number 8-800-25-000-15 with a possibility of free long-distance calls from all over Russia, and MGTS has provided call centre resources of the major Russian reply service 009. The Children Online Helpline is staffed with professional experts who advise children, parents and teachers on the issues of the safe Internet and mobile communications usage.

COMSTAR-UTS is a member of the Communications Operators Charter for child pornography control in the Internet and one of the developers of the Declaration for children’s and young people safety in the Internet that states the main principles for the Internet market participants to ensure a safe Internet usage by the oncoming generation.

Member companies of the special-purpose exposition have presented both ongoing and future projects aimed to protect and educate the most vulnerable categories of Internet users, including children and teenagers as well as representatives of the elder generation.