The Russian telco Rostelecom has begun to connect new subscribers to its interactive TV service.
According to AKTR and Tass Telekom, it is doing so free of charge, with customers also being provided reception equipment rental-free for the first six months.
The interactive TV service is being offered under local brand names in federal districts of Russia.
These include Domolink TV (Central Federal District), Avangard TV (North West Federal District), J-TV (Volga Federal District) and Twist TV (Siberian Federal District).
The service, which offers over 100 TV channels and interactivity, is expected to have around 500,000 subscribers in 2012, when it will start to use a single brand name.
