Ukrtelecom deploys RAD access gear

JUNE 26, 2007 -- Ukrtelecom (search for Ukrtelecom), the state-owned telecommunications operator in Ukraine, has deployed equipment from RAD Data Communications (search for RAD) to provide end-to-end Ethernet service throughout the country over its existing PDH/SDH infrastructure.

By enabling Ethernet over the existing PDH/SDH infrastructure, Ukrtelcom's goal was to maximize operational flexibility, lower opex by using simple Layer 2 platforms, reduce capex by avoiding investment in next-generation SDH equipment, and cut both capex and opex by employing a single-box approach at their central offices, according to RAD. The company adds that its carrier-class equipment provides full protection, including over tributaries, which RAD claims is a feature unique to the market.

At the customer premises, Ukrtelcom has deployed RAD's RICi-8E1 Network Termination Units (NTUs). These devices, owned and operated by the carrier, transport Fast Ethernet LAN and Internet services (IP DSLAM backhauling) over up to eight bonded E1 lines to an SDH backbone. SDH backbones covering 26 regions around the country, in turn, converge on a central MPLS network.

Multiple E1 lines are groomed together onto a single STM-1 link using RAD's Optimux-1551 STM-1 terminal multiplexer and then handed to RAD's Egate-100 channelized Ethernet gateway, which interconnects with Gigabit Ethernet traffic on the MPLS network.

"This is a very cost-effective solution for a carrier seeking to extend its Ethernet customer base by linking up small cities that lack fiber infrastructure," explains Alexey Bobrov, of S&T, the RAD Data Communications partner in Ukraine that served as the project's system integrator. "The project has made a substantial contribution towards expanding Ethernet service throughout the country."

Ukraine has steadily modernized and expanded its domestic trunk infrastructure since gaining independence in December 1991. The number of telephone lines in the country, for example, rose from 12.1 million to 17.2 million from 2004 to 2005 alone, according to RAD -- growth of approximately 42 percent in 12 months. During the past several years, Ukraine also has connected five trunk lines to fiber-optic cable to link the country to Europe on the west, Asia to the east, and the Mediterranean to the south.

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