October 21, 2010, Moscow: COMSTAR – United TeleSystems (COMSTAR-UTS, LSE: CMST), a leading provider of integrated telecom solutions in Russia and the CIS, has upgraded and expanded its multi-service transport network in Moscow using IP/MPLS.

Under this project launched in 2008, COMSTAR-UTS installed more than 150 communication nodes by Cisco. This network was previously based on the outdated equipment by Riverstone. The transport network uses peripheral half-rings connected to the network core that has a capacity of 10 Gbps. Project investments amounted to nearly 250 million rubles (over 8 million USD).

COMSTAR-UTS has obtained a permit from Roskomnadzor Moscow and Moscow Region for operation of the multi-service data network and commercially launched it.

With this network COMSTAR-UTS can offer data, leased-lines, telematic and VoIP (Voice over IP) services, as well as VPN (virtual private network) channels of Level 2 and 3 with a broader bandwidth for all corporate telecom services. As a part of the upgrade, COMSTAR-UTS increased and extended interfaces with Moscow Region segment, which facilitates digital convergence of Moscow and Moscow Region and enables high-speed services for VPN customers having offices in these two regions.

"We have completely upgraded our Moscow network with up-to-date equipment. This project will allow COMSTAR users to get advanced and high-quality telecom services. In addition, this project expands network coverage making our services available to a larger number of customers," Aleksandr Kirillov, COMSTAR-UTS Technology Vice President, says.

COMSTAR-UTS network is an integral part of the common transport network of the Group in Moscow. It comprises backbones of COMSTAR-UTS, MGTS and COMSTAR-Direct interconnected through the supercore – a key network element. The infrastructure has a double star topology, which improves network reliability due to complete redundancy. The network uses DWDM (Dense Wavelength Division Multiplexing) technology; overall capacity is 400 Gbps.