September 18, 2009, Moscow, Sochi: COMSTAR – United TeleSystems (JSC COMSTAR-UTS, LSE: CMST), the leading provider of integrated telecom services in Russia and the CIS, announces completion and commissioning of communication network for State Corporation on Olympic Facilities Construction and Developing Sochi as a Mountain Resort – SC Olympstroy, Sochi.

COMSTAR-UTS South signed a contract to provide integrated telecom services in SC Olympstroy’s offices in Sochi in March 2009 (see news). Network deployment, installation and testing were completed in April 2009, following which COMSTAR-UTS launched telecom services for SC Olympstroy in some areas of Sochi: Central and Adlersky areas and Krasnaya Polyana settlement.

COMSTAR-UTS has performed construction and installation activities to join distributed offices of SC Olympstroy, deployed a 3,650 meters long fiber-optic line, installed 4 LG CS 1000 exchanges and mounted a structured cable network in the central office of SC Olympstroy in Sochi.

COMSTAR-UTS provides SC Olympstroy with high-speed Internet, local and long-distance voice communication, leased line and fiber optics services. The company has also allocated direct telephone numbers for the corporation.

"The telecom project that we have implemented for SC Olympstroy in Sochi is one of the largest projects of our company in Southern Russia. Upgrade of our own infrastructure in the region enabled high-quality advanced communication for distributed offices and departments of SC Olympstroy in Sochi. We have also commercially launched our own FTTB network in Sochi, joined Central and Adlersky areas of Sochi with a high-speed SDH STM-1 backbone. We believe that providing high-quality communication, Internet and cable TV services to inhabitants and guests of future Olympic capital is important and responsible task, and we have all the capabilities to solve it," Sergey Pridantsev, President of COMSTAR-UTS, notes.

COMSTAR-UTS entered the telecom market in Sochi in 2005. Since that, we have implemented several large-scale projects in the city. For example, the company is actively developing Wi-Fi services by installing hotspots in hotels, shopping malls and business centers. By September 2008, COMSTAR-UTS had completed the communication network comprising 50 Wi-Fi hotspots in the most famous Sochi hotel – Zhemchuzhina. Similar Wi-Fi networks have been also created in other prestige hotels of the city and in Adler airport terminals. In summer 2009, COMSTAR-UTS launched a trial operation of microwave link Adler – Sochi. The company also actively operates on mass market segment in Sochi. For example, in May 2009, COMSTAR-UTS commercially launched cable TV in Sochi and in summer of this year it started connection of households to FTTB-enabled high-speed Internet.