semi-state. Both state and private stations can have a national status (broadcasters that reach over 70% of the national territory), or a regional, district or local status. Local partners are often united in bigger networks. In the 1970s and 1980s, television become the preeminent mass medium. In 1988 approximately 75 million households owned television sets, and an estimated 93 percent of the population watched television. Moscow, the base from which most of the television stations broadcast, transmitted some 90 percent of the country's programs, with the help of more than 350 stations and nearly 1,400 relay facilities. There are about 15,000 TV transmitters. Development of domestic digital TV transmitters, led within "Multichannel" research program, had already been finished. New domestic digital transmitters have been developed and installed in Nizhniy Novgorod and Saint Petersburg in 2001–2002. The state television broadcaster is Pervy kanal (Channel One)., VGTRK (channels: Rossiya 1, Rossiya 2, Rossiya K, Rossiya 24, Carousel (together with Channel One)), TV Tsentr (it is owned by the administration of the city of Moscow), Telekanal Zvezda (owner Ministry of Defence) and TV-Novosti (RT channel in English, Rusiya Al-Yaum channel in Arabic, RT America channel based in Washington, D.C. , United States in English, RT Actualidad channel in Spanish, RT Documentary channel in Russian). Internet Broadband internet access is becoming more readily available in Russia, and as a result the internet is growing as an avenue for Russian commerce, with 42% of internet users in Russia shopping online, and 38% using online banking services. IPTV The IPTV developing fast as a cheap alternative to regular television. In July 2011, Rostelecom started a plan to unify IPTV services in Russia's regions offering standard features such as linear and on-demand TV along with new interactive and OTT services provided by the operator to various mobile devices. For this Russian company SmartLabs was chosen. Country code top-level domain: RU (Also SU – left from Soviet Union) International connection Russia is connected internationally by three undersea fiber-optic cables; digital switches in several cities provide more than 50,000 lines for international calls; satellite earth stations provide access to Intelsat, Intersputnik, Eutelsat, Inmarsat, and Orbita. Rostelecom set up international fiber-optic communication lines providing access to Finland, Turkey, Italy, Bulgaria, Japan, China, Estonia, Latvia, Kazakhstan, Ukraine, Azerbaijan, Georgia, and Belarus. The company's international points of presence are in Stockholm, Frankfurt, Amsterdam, and London. Russia due to its connections to Europe