OREANDA-NEWS. April 22, 2010. COMSTAR – United TeleSystems (COMSTAR-UTS, LSE: CMST), the leading provider of integrated telecommunication solutions in Russia and the CIS, announces that the Volga branch of COMSTAR-Regions (100% subsidiary of COMSTAR-UTS), has built and commercially launched an intra-zone fixed voice network in the Samara region.

On April 13, 2010, COMSTAR Volga Region, a part of the Volga branch of COMSTAR-Regions, got a permission to operate the intra-zone communication node in Samara from the Federal Supervision Service for Communications and Mass Media. The operator has already launched intra-zone voice services for private and corporate customers in the Samara region.

For two years, total investments in the project, including network design and installation of the node and fiber optic lines, have made over 80 million rubles or about USD 2.75 million.

The telephone exchange is based on the Nortel CS 1500 switch. The intra-zone network also uses state-of-the-art ECI Telecom and Cisco equipment. Besides, in 2008-2009, as part of the program to deploy next-generation multi-service telecom network in Samara the operator installed over 380 km of fiber optic lines, commissioned 105 access points in all districts of the city and 15 points of connection to networks of the leading fixed operators in the Samara region.

Viktor Koresh, Vice President for Regional Development of COMSTAR-UTS and Director General of COMSTAR-Regions, comments this as follows: “Intra-zone networks significantly contribute to the inter-city and international communication services which have been provided by COMSTAR since 2008. Development of intra-zone communication services in the regions of our presence enables reduced costs, increased revenue from traffic passing through our own network and more beneficial price plans for our subscribers.”

“We have launched the intra-zone network as part of the development plans for our branch. In 2008-2009 we built large transport and distribution network providing high-density coverage in Samara and Tolyatti,” Vitaly Klishin, Deputy Director General of the Volga branch of COMSTAR-Regions, says. “Today COMSTAR is one of the leaders among Internet service providers in the corporate market segment in Samara and Tolyatti. And with the intra-zone network the operator will be able to provide the whole range of voice services: local, intra-zone, inter-city and international communication. We are going to further develop our multi-service network and expand our geographical presence in the region.”

Today, COMSTAR has its own zone-level networks and offers intra-zone fixed voice services in Moscow, Moscow Region, Ryazan Region, Khanty-Mansi Autonomous District, Rostov Region, Krasnodar Region, Yekaterinburg and Sverdlovsk Region, Samara and Saratov Regions, Saint Petersburg and Orenburg Region.