

Russian citizens must register WiFi devices (including laptops) and receive special permission to use them - Sam_Odio
http://arstechnica.com/news.ars/post/20080416-russian-government-enacts-byzantine-wifi-regulations.html

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huhtenberg
Not exactly. Officials from one of the government agencies issued an opinion
that WiFi devices require registration by the end users. Other people
including other officials pointed out that this would contradict existing law
that frees certified end-user devices from the need of being registrated
(though commercial WiFi equipment including e.g. Cisco is not).

So it is an open issue, rather than a definitive "must register". This is not
the first case when a cretin from a government agency blurted out something as
stupid as this; and certainly not the last. In the end the underlying cause is
far less sinister than one might think - they simply want to milk public for
the licensing fees.

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palish
Here is a distilled version without unnecessary words:

"A Russian government agency has proposed mandatory registration of all WiFi
devices.

According to Fontanka.ru, the government agency responsible for regulating
mass media, communications, and cultural protection has stated that users will
have to register every WiFi-enabled device with the government and receive
special permission in order to use the hardware. The agency says that
registration could take as long as ten days for standard devices like PDAs and
laptops and that it intends to confiscate devices that are used without
registration. Users who wish to operate a wireless access point or WiFi-
enabled home router are expected to go through an even more onerous process
that will involve submitting documentation and obtaining a license. In certain
regions, like Moscow and St. Petersburg, users will also have to receive
special approval from the Federal Security Service.

The policy, which was explained to Fontanka.ru by the Russian agency's deputy
director Vladimir Karpov, could reverse existing policies like a 2004
government panel decision to provide blanket permission for indoor wireless
access point operation and a 2007 policy that allowed use of mobile WiFi
devices without registration. According to The Other Russia, the Russian
government agency that is responsible for issuing the new policy was created
when the Russian media and telecommunications regulatory bodies were merged
last year."

