«Personal Communication Systems» (pss.internet2.ru) was the website of a Nizhny Novgorod internet provider operating under the PSS brand. The nn.ru catalog described it as a resource about "connection and internet access on the best terms in Nizhny Novgorod"[1]. Judging by Web Archive snapshots, the site existed from October 2000 to November 2016[2][3].

What the site looked like and what it offered

In the snapshot from October 3, 2000, the PSS home page listed a technical support phone line at 91-44-44 (from 9:00 to 18:00) and the email support@internet2.ru, with menu sections leading to a company description, news, a help section, services, "Our Store," and the "Billing Center"[2]. As the home page put it, "302 network subscribers with us as of 10.03.2000, of which 170 are active," and one could become a subscriber "without leaving the Internet" by registering in the online "Billing Center"[2]. Two dial-up pricing plans were in effect — "Card-based" (using the "Rusya" prepaid card, from 10 to 24 rubles per hour depending on time of day) and "Contract-based" (with a permanent login and mailbox, from 6 to 18 rubles per hour, a subscription fee of 1 ruble per day), as well as a Call Back service for 2.4 rubles per day, introduced on July 27, 2000[2]. Separately listed was the cost of leased-line access at PSS nodes — from 1,000 rubles for connection at speeds from 64 Kbit/s, with a free mailbox in the form "name@internet2.ru"[2].

By May 2007 the site's structure had changed: the menu now included "Connection," "Connection Request," "Mail," and "Site Map" sections, and the list of contacts had grown considerably — technical support phones 505-416, 138-168, and 134-205 (for the lower part of the city), a billing department at 508-500 (9:00 to 20:00), plus outlets on Lenin Avenue, 73 (509-598) and Izhorskaya Street, 18 (502-414)[3]. Phone numbers were now given with the city code (8312)[3]. As the home page announced, the company offered to "connect to the Internet in your home via a leased line, without using a phone line"[3][4]. Behind this "leased line" was a wireless scheme: an access point built on an ordinary personal computer with sector Wi-Fi antennas was installed on the building housing the node, a coaxial cable ran from the subscriber's antenna into the apartment, and a "radio card" was inserted into the subscriber's computer; a new building was brought online once at least five requests had accumulated, with connection speeds of 300-500 Kbit/s[4]. Unlimited plans for individuals appeared — "Basic" (585 rubles/month), "Favorite" (990 rubles/month), and "Leader" (1,300 rubles/month), with speed throttling after the included traffic volume was used up, as well as "Professional" plans for individuals with 3 to 10 GB of incoming traffic priced from 3,700 to 8,400 rubles per month[3]. A separate option was "Night Unlimited Access" from 19:00 to 07:59, with a connection fee of 120 rubles and a subscription fee from 350 to 1,130 rubles per month depending on speed and whether weekends were included[3]. By 2007 payment could also be made through the OSMP system, as announced in a news item dated November 28, 2006[3].

Place in the Nizhny Novgorod internet

According to the census card, the sampling of the Counter.nn.ru counter, and the results of the Nizhny Novgorod Internet Day of 2004, our data contains no information about the site — no rating or vote count was recorded[1]. At the same time, PSS appeared in the nn.ru thematic catalog as one of the region's providers[1], and the site's own news feed shows that the company operated continuously in the Nizhny Novgorod internet access market from at least 2000 to 2007, updating tariffs and introducing new services[2][3]. One technical incident recorded on the site — a "force majeure power outage on 08.31.2000 in the Metro building" — indicates that a PSS communications node was located in the premises of the Nizhny Novgorod Metro[2].

How it closed

There is no data in the material on the reasons or exact date the site ceased operating; it is only known that the last Web Archive snapshot is dated November 29, 2016, and that by the time the census card was compiled the domain pss.internet2.ru was not responding ("no such domain")[1]. According to researchers who in 2025 examined surviving PSS equipment and remnants of nodes on Nizhny Novgorod buildings, fiber optic reached most of the serviced buildings in 2010-2011, the wireless nodes were decommissioned and switched off, and the company itself ceased to exist in 2012[4].

Sources

  1. NN.RU (archive)
  2. web.archive.org — Home page, 2000 (archive)
  3. web.archive.org — Home page, 2007 (archive)
  4. habr.com — "Personal Communication Systems." Wi-Fi Nizhny Novgorod style