Golden Telecom, which provides integrated telecommunications and Internet services throughout Russia and the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS), is implementing its strategy of rolling-out global broadband access in the Russian Republic of Tatarstan.
This move follows Golden Telecom's acquisition of 70% of ZAO Tatar Intellectual Communications (Tatintelcom), the largest ISP in Tatarstan by volume.
Turning to the city of Kazan, Tatintelcom installed its Digital Subscriber Line (DSL) equipment in 8 out of 10 communication nodes on Kazan's telephone network, thereby covering around 80% of Kazan's territory. The capacity of these eight communication nodes is approximately 160,000 numbers.
Tatintelcom utilises ADSL to bring broadband Internet to corporate clients. According to the Russian State Statistics Committee, the number of legal entities registered in Tatarstan by the end of 2005 included 2,999 industrial enterprises and 17,500 small businesses, a significant share of which is located in Kazan. In the near future Tatintelcom will develop and provide broadband Internet access services in Kazan and other districts of Tatarstan, in the process shifting its focus from corporate clients to end users.
Key to its future development is one factor: by acquiring Tatintelcom Golden Telecom has access to the "last mile", which means a considerable customer base as well as the almost 80% coverage of Kazan. This was also the company's first step in the process of planned implementation of its own broadband access rollout strategy.
Building on fibre-optic achievements
This June, Golden Telecom completed a 490 km fibre-optic communication line ("FOCL") between Nizhny Novgorod and Kazan. Once this segment is commissioned by Rossvyaznadzor, Golden Telecom will launch commercial operations. It joins the 485 km segment between Moscow and Nizhny Novgorod finished in March.
Fibre-optic lines comprise Next-Generation Networks (NGNs) that enable Golden Telecom to provide high-quality Internet access and voice services. They also allow the company to enter the long-distance communication market and take advantage of its new licence, obtained May 2005, to provide intercity and international telephone communication services.
More info:
