OREANDA-NEWS. On 12 March 2009 was announced, that Sibirtelecom had completed a major investment project – the construction of a multi-service network in Siberia, which links 11 regions. This was a historical event not only in the development of the Siberian region, but also for the entire telecommunications industry of Russia in general.  Sibirtelecom’s multi-service network is the largest network built in Russia, which ranks among the three longest in the country, over 6,500 km. It provides coverage for all regions of the Siberian Federal District from Omsk to Chita.

“Today all of Sibirtelecom’s efforts are directed at forming an information environment in the federal district that will be able to provide a considerably better quality of life for Siberians and become a driver from growth of the Siberian economy.  Our multi-service network will make it possible to meet this major strategic challenge.  Areas with weak infrastructure will get new and advanced services, including Triple Play packages.  Special attention will be devoted to national projects to internationalize schools, and computerize medical institutions.  This is a very important project in terms of state projects.  Thus, while the great distance from villages to centers used to create an information void, with the construction of this new advanced infrastructure everything is changing.  This encapsulates the positive effects for regional authorities, since populated areas will become more governable.  As we have clearly seen, without efficient infocom facilities it is impossible to properly govern such vast and remote areas”, Alexander Isaev, general director of Sibirtelecom.

The network was built in stages gradually over a period of 4 years since 2005 in partnership with the general contractor Trust Svyazstroy-6.  The total investment expenses of the project amounted to over Rub 2 bln.  This was an extremely complex project in terms of technical and human resources, not to mention the deadline for its completion.  “During the many years of our operations, this was the first time the company had to deal with such a complex project.  Despite all the difficulties that arose during the construction of the network, we fulfilled our obligations to Sibirtelecom and honorably met the challenges set before us,” said Vladimir Ageev, general director of Trust Svyazstroy-6.

The company has gained the ability to enclose local traffic inside its network and route backbone traffic through some of the most optimal points of traffic exchange with federal operators, which makes it possible to considerably improve the reliability and quality of the company’s services.  The company’s network in this case works in tandem with the networks of its strategic partner Rostelecom.  By debottlenecking certain sections of the network, Sibirtelecom is able to guarantee a stable Internet access speed for its customers.  And by creating a universal transportation system, Sibirtelecom will be able to raise the transmission capacity of its network as volumes of broadband Internet traffic grow and expand the coverage area of its value-added services.