OREANDA-NEWS. September 16, 2010. Sibirtelecom has broken through the 700,000 mark for broadband Internet subscribers of services provided under the Webstream trademark.

Sibirtelecom is one of the ten largest Internet providers in Russia, commanding 62% of the regional Internet market in the Siberian Federal District. According to an estimate by iKS-Consulting, the company ranks among the top three leaders by the growth of its Internet subscriber base compared to the year-earlier period.  As of the end of H1 2010, according to an estimate made by “Delovoi Kvartal” Sibirtelecom ranks number one in the rating in the capital of the Siberian Federal District – Novosibirsk – by the size of its subscriber base and the number of users connected to broadband Internet in H1 2010 in the private and corporate client segments.

“The number of Webstream subscribers is growing astronomically, as are traffic volumes of information provided.  Thus, at the end of 2006 the company’s subscriber base stood at about 65,000 clients, and over the last four years it has expanded more than 10 times.  At present, the company’s subscriber base numbers over 700,000 and by the end of this year it should reach the 1 million mark.  Our ambitious plans to grow the subscriber base are largely due to the multi-service network which has been built, the rollout of GPON and ETTH technologies, the launch of a unified data-center, greater attractiveness of the content resources of Sibnet.ru, and stronger customer loyalty programs”, pointed out the commercial director of Sibirtelecom, Valery Belenky.

Nowadays, Sibirtelecom is a trendsetter in the region for new technologies which are helping to improve the quality of available services and meet the growing needs of datacom customers.  Only a few years ago, ADSL was the mainly technology used for datacom and it was also closely connected with the outlook for value-added services.  But given the current demands for channel speeds and high connection quality, beginning in April 2010 Sibirtelecom was the first company in the region to launch service provision using Gigabit-capable Passive Optical Networks (GPON).  This technology makes it possible to increase the transmission capacity of a network up to 1 Gigabit, i.e. more than one hundred faster than the speed available under ADSL technology.  In addition, GPON supports high quality of video signal transmission, which makes it possible to roll out high-definition television (HDTV).  Another important issue is that Sibirtelecom can use GPON to provide the full range of Triple Play and other value-added services such as online video surveillance capability.

In 2010, Sibirtelecom expects to invest a total of RUR 3.8 bln in rolling out Internet services in the Siberian region, of which RUR 1.9 bln has already been spent.  The bulk of these funds were allocated to the construction of GPON networks in 10 regions of the Siberian Federal District (all regions of the SFD, except for the Republic of Tyva and the Republic of Altai).

Sibirtelecom has a flexible tariff policy, which makes it more affordable for households and companies to gain Internet connectivity.  In 2010 the company lowered its Internet tariffs by 34% on average.  Concerted efforts are also being made to expand the range of value-added services, raise the quality of services and the efficiency of customer service.