OREANDA-NEWS. On 01 July 2009 COMSTAR – United TeleSystems (COMSTAR-UTS, LSE: CMST), the leading operator of integrated telecommunication services in Russia and the CIS, announced that the number of registered Wi-Fi hotspots of COMSTAR-FON network in Russia has reached 1,000. The service was commercially launched in the end of 2008.

COMSTAR-FON is a Wi-Fi-based wireless broadband network being a part of a common global FON network with over 500,000 of active hotspots available today all over the world. COMSTAR-UTS is an exclusive operator of the Russian Wi-Fi FON segment. COMSTAR-FON is being formed and expanded by users themselves as they install leased Wi-Fi routers. Such subscribers can use similar FON hotspots installed by other FON users all over the world, including all access points of COMSTAR-FON, free of charge.

COMSTAR-FON is available for subscription to users of COMSTAR-UTS broadband Internet in Moscow (STREAM brand ). The service is provided in partnership with FON Wireless Limited, Spain.

To connect to COMSTAR-FON you need to sign a service agreement and lease the router in one of the STREAM Sales & Service offices. Then you have to register at www.fon.com. The service and the benefits of Wi-Fi social network member will be available only after router registration in the global FON network.

Alexander Gorbunov, Vice President for Strategy and Development of COMSTAR-UTS, says "Connection of the thousandth subscriber is a first project milestone. A distinctive feature of the service is that its consumer value increases as the number of network users grows. Besides, many users are going abroad for summer holidays, and connection to the network will enable them to get free Internet access in any country. We have worked out all the business processes, we see an increasing interest to the service, so we are going to further develop it."

In the future, COMSTAR-UTS is planning to involve its partners, i.e. dealers who connect Moscow subscribers to STREAM broadband Internet, in service provision as well as use the opportunities of MGTS, its affiliate.

Moreover, in the nearest time COMSTAR-UTS will enter the telecom market with ADSL modem with FON router integrated. This will simplify the connection to COMSTAR-FON.

Registration of new user in COMSTAR-FON is very simple. It takes only a few minutes. At www.fon.com you need to enter a unique code of your router and address of its location. After that the device will be displayed on the interactive map. When the router is connected to a home ADSL, Internet channel is divided into 2 Wi-Fi zones: private, My Place, available only to its owner, and public, COMSTAR-FON, available to all members of global FON covered by the active router and having a laptop with Wi-Fi adapter, for example. Thus, a router owner can both share its wireless access with all members of Wi-Fi FON social network and use wireless Internet in the coverage area of other hotspot at any time for free. COMSTAR-FON user pays for its wireline ADSL channel based on their tariff and for router lease (30 rubles per month).