OREANDA-NEWS. On 15 January 2009 COMSTAR – United TeleSystems (JSC COMSTAR-UTS, LSE: CMST), the largest integrated telecom services operator in Russia and the CIS announced that Arkhangelsk branch ZAO “STREAM TV”, a subsidiary of COMSTAR-UTS, has accomplished building of fiber optic backbone network and head-end cable TV station in Mirny (Plesetsk space center).

During 2008 a fiber optic cable network was build to completely cover the town. In parallel, the cable TV head-end station construction was accomplished. The outcome for the inhabitants of Mirny was an option to get connected to STREAM TV cable TV network with a perspective to watch 45 TV channels of superb digital quality. In February 2009 the start of data exchange center construction is expected which will enable STREAM TV subscribers to use Internet broadband access service as well.

“Mirny is a town of rocket launchers and, as yet, the only Russian space center. That is why the majority of inhabitants are experts who came here from the central part of this country where such services are quite habitual. Quality TV broadcast and especially an option to have broadband Internet access was surely long awaited and they shall be in great demand of the town inhabitants,” Dmitriy Zaitsev, ZAO STREAM TV Arkhangelsk branch Director said.

As it was noticed by the Head of Mirny, Viktor Solodov, “thanks to operator activities it became possible to bring both quantity and quality aspects of TV in our town to a level of large regional centers, which is, no doubt, quite significant and socially important for us”.

Multi-channel TV based on MMDS broadband fixed wireless signal transmission technology (Multi-channel Multipoint Distribution System) has emerged in Mirny as early as in 2002 already. Given the fact the town area is an administrative territorial entity with highly restricted access; all work had to be accomplished only after it had been approved by the local administration and Plesetsk space center authorities. At that time, due to some technology limitations it was only possible to provide the inhabitants with just modest 18 TV channels. Last year, after coordination of network update project with supervisory authorities, the company managed to commission new high-tech equipment. Thus, in the year 2009 more than 40 000 of Mirny inhabitants with the experts of Plesetsk space center shall get an access to the most up-to-date multiservice communication facilities.