OREANDA-NEWS. August 13, 2008. Within the framework of the program on networks’ digitization, Southern Telecommunications Company put out of operation the last step-by-step telephone exchange located in its licensed territory in Elista, reported the press-centre of UTK.

"It is a very important event in the telecommunications history of both Kalmykia Republic and Southern Telecommunications Company. It signalizes the end of the whole epoch – the period of step-by-step telephone exchanges", - Deputy Director General - Technical Director of "UTK" PJSC Evgeny Rzhevsky said.

After the ceremonial disconnection of the step-by-step automatic telephone exchange № 5 a new digital automatic telephone exchange №  6 having total capacity of 9,600 lines was put into operation.

Within the framework of the program of the city communication network reconstruction, a fiber optic communication line was built in suburbs of Elista – Arshan, Lola – where the inhabitants got the access to all modern services, including broadband access to the Internet network.

In addition, commissioning of a digital telephone exchange having capacity of 4,800 lines in the fourth micro-district of Elista allowed the Kalmykia branch to provide the population of the 3,4,5,10-th micro-districts with qualitative voice and internet services.

"Southern Telecommunications Company" PJSC invested 92.5 million roubles in the project of the Elista telecommunications networks modernization. As a result, the digitization rate of the Kalmykia branch networks increased from 52.7 to 65.5 %.