10 November 2010, Moscow. COMSTAR – United TeleSystems (OAO COMSTAR-UTS, LSE: CMST), the leading supplier of integrated telecommunication solutions in Russia and the CIS, and OAO Mobile TeleSystems (NYSE: MBT), the leading telecommunication operator in Russia and the CIS, annouced of their joint project to connect MTS 3G network base stations in Moscow Region to COMSTAR-UTS multiservice transport communication network.

Within the framework of this project the 3G network base stations were tested with the launch for voice and data traffic transit via COMSTAR-UTS transport communication network. As a result, the data rate in 3G network has exceeded 12 Mbps within each sector of the base station. Practical tests have shown that under real conditions, the subscriber connected to such base station may experience download data rate of 10-12 Mbps.

By end of this year, it is planned to provide the network operation for the larger part of 3G Moscow network in HSPDA* standard at a data rate of 14.4 Mb/s, with some network segments being HSDPA+ featuring data rate of 21.6 Mbps. By the end of 2010, COMSTAR-UTS plan to connect more than 300 base stations of MTS in Moscow and in Moscow Region to their transport networks. Combined with MTS own program for building of fiber optic communication links, H1 2011 shall see connection of every other 3G network base station via fixed communication line with nearly no capacity limit in the transport network bandwidth, to allow the development of 3G network, as the demand for traffic with MTS subscribers grows.

“This project is one of integration MTS and COMSTAR-UTS projects aimed at improvement of the usage efficiency for the company existing infrastructure resources and reduction of their costs. The use of COMSTAR-UTS developed telecommunication infrastructure in Moscow region provides paves the way for further expansion of data rates and a range of services provided by MTS 3G network subscribers. At the same time, it helps to substantially reduce the roll-out time and investments for the construction of transport network, being a foundation for MTS subscriber traffic transit,” MTS Moscow Region Director, Konstantin Markov, pointed out.

“The integration of communication networks is one of the major trends for the business merger of both companies. Using COMSTAR-UTS transport networks in Moscow, MTS shall provide mobile communication subscribers with greater data transfer options. We build our communication networks so as to use them for implementation of projects of any complexity, including traffic transit taking into account mobile communication needs,” Alexander Kirillov, COMSTAR-UTS Technology Vice-President, noticed.

Besides, the existing transport network of MTS can be used to connect COMSTAR-UTS subscribers of the Moscow Region, to avoid duplicated building of network resources with provision of the effective client base growth.

As it was reported earlier, COMSTAR-UTS has completed upgrading and expansion of their own multiservice data transport network in Moscow based on IP\MPLS technology. The network core capacity is 10 Gbps. This network allows to provide Moscow users with data exchange services, communication channel lease, telematic services, VoIP (Voice over IP), and to arrange access links to create VPN (Virtual Private Networks) of Level 2 and 3 with a wider traffic bandwidth for corporate clients. Within the framework of upgrade, COMSTAR-UTS also increased and expanded the number of connection nodes with the Moscow Region communication network segment.

*HSDPA (High-Speed Downlink Packet Access) — a mobile communication standard, one of the transitional stages in migration to 4-th generation mobile communication technologies (4G). The maximum design data rate provided by the standard makes 14.4 Mbps.