Rostelecom launches fiber-optic line between Russia and China

May 25, 2006 Moscow -- Rostelecom, Russia's national long-distance telecommunications operator, has launched a new fiber-optic line from the Russian city of Blagoveshchensk to the city of Heihe in Heilongjiang province, China.

The high-speed, terrestrial, cross-border link was constructed using DWDM equipment with initial throughput capacity of 2.5 Gbits/sec--to be further expanded up to 400 Gbits/sec--to interconnect Rostelecom's network with China Telecom's network. The new route ensures broadband traffic transmission from Asian countries to Europe through Rostelecom's network as part of the Europe-Asia transit (TEA) project offered by the carrier.

In addition, connecting the digital output in Blagoveshchensk with Rostelecom's backbone network enables the carrier to raise the quality of services to Russian customers.

The Blagoveshchensk-Heihe fiber-optic line is the second broadband channel of Rostelecom, which connects Russia and China. The availability of two geographically diverse routes contributes to higher throughput capacity in this direction. As the back up for Rostelecom's access to China, the new route increases reliability of traffic transit. The carrier has already set a STM-16 cross-border link from Khabarovsk to Fuyuan.

"Construction of a new cable system between Russia and China is another step towards integrating communications networks of our countries into the global telecommunications space," comments Dmitry Yerokhin, general director of Rostelecom. "The direct connection of China Telecom and Rostelecom's networks provides both companies with more opportunities for launching new services and reinforcing partnership in various telecommunication fields."

The project was implemented as part of a cooperative program by the governments of the Russian Federation and the People's Republic of China. Rostelecom and China Telecom signed the agreement to construct the cable system on July 15, 2004.