On 25th December 2008 the ceremony of presenting an award to the 600,000th subscriber of the Internet broadband access service took place in the recently opened Head Regional Account Management Representative Office of the Kaliningrad Branch of OJSC N.W.Telecom, Flagman category.

Maxim Kharitonov, a user of the Avangard service from Kaliningrad, who decided to get connected to the Internet access service and to take part in the Avangard + PC promotional event on that day, became the jubilee subscriber. A mini notebook that he wanted to buy on an installment basis within the framework of the promotional event was given to the 6 00,000th subscriber as a gift. As an addition to his main gift, Maxim got a chance of celebrating his happy connection to the Internet by a New Year's eve tour of Kaliningrad on a white limousine.

"It is always pleasant to get presents, and especially on the New Year's eve. Until now I have been using dial-up access and have been thinking of becoming a subscriber of Avangard for a long time, for it is much more convenient and expedient. I am glad that I will use telecommunication services at a qualitatively new level in the New Year," Maxim said.

The individual subscriber-oriented Avangard service is in keen demand among the target audience in all regions of the Northwestern Federal District. Presented in St. Petersburg for the first time in February 2006, the service has been developing faster and faster and in less than a year embraced the entire Northwestern Federal District . In March 2007 the 100,000th subscriber was connected, by the end of 2007 more than 280,000 subscribers of OJSC N.W.Telecom were using the Avangard service, and on 19th November 2008 the 500,000th subscriber of Avangard was connected .

As Deputy General Manager – Sales Manager of OJSC North-West Telecom O. V. Popov noted, " Due to the high quality of the services provided and the proactive marketing policy, OJSC N.W. Telecom has been stably retaining the leading positions in the market of broadband access services for individuals. And Avangard has become a recognizable, popular and really mass service in all the regions of the Northwestern Federal District. In Kaliningrad Oblast competition in the broadband access market is very acute, however, in spite of that, the Kaliningrad Branch has been strengthening its position in the regional market – according to the results of 2008, it occupied more than a half of the broadband access services market".

More detailed information on the Avangard service can be found on the site www.avangard-dsl.ru.