There is a way; we need a will

INFORMATION BRIDGES SET BY TELEKOMINVEST

Alexander Niago,
Director General of
"Telekominvest"

        A communications network based on new generation data transmission systems is being established in the Northwest. Information "bridges" will be built between eight Federation subjects from the Kola Peninsula to the Baltic Sea. Here the building of a single information space is planned on the basis of digital transport infrastructure. This will allow high-speed data exchange and access to the region's information resources as well as provide an incentive for the introduction of new technologies for managing large, socially-important economic systems.
         The Telekominvest holding company is directing the project. It was established to coordinate the efforts of communications companies in order to attract investment and coordinate the subsidiaries' work, which aim to raise the quality of service to world standards.
         Alexander Niago, Director General of Telekominvest spoke with our New East correspondent about the project itself, its practical meaning and perspectives.
         "Imagine the map of the Northwest. The transport network will begin in Murmansk, then go to Petrozavodsk, and from the Karelian capital it will divide into two parts, one of which will go to the East and the other to the West. A giant oval will thus be formed, and it will embrace St. Petersburg, Novgorod, Vologda, Cherepovets, Kirov, Syktyvkar and Archangelsk."
         "That immediately raises another question - how will the new line be laid? The answer is that it will be based on a reliable and durable fiber-optics line of great capacity. We decided not to build underground trenches, which is very time-consuming and expensive. Instead, we proposed an original and much cheaper way to assemble the main network. We have agreed to use power line pillars to hang the cables, as their routes are mainly the same as ours. It is also advantageous for RAO EES, as they will receive express communications inside their departments. Obviously, we will also be able to realize the first stage of our project much sooner, that is, connecting the basic centers, in other words, the main cities of the Northwest, with a single communications artery. Building of the network is to be completed by the year 2001."
         "In the future, lines will be branched to district centers, large railway stations,river quays and factories. But these are plants the future It is symbolic that despite the economic crisis in Russia many foreign and Russian investors remain eager to participate in the program. This reflects its commercial attractiveness.
        

Interview by Lev Frolov