Orange Business launches new segment of DWDM backbone in South direction

The successive segment of Orange Business national backbone network in Russia, built on DWDM  technology, – «Moscow-Rostov-on-Don» – is commercially launched.

Orange Business has commercially launched ‘Moscow – Rostov-on-Don’ segment of the Russian backbone network. The segment is 3,500 km long and also includes network segments to Tula, Voronezh and Volgograd. The upbuilt infrastructure is the extension of ‘Moscow-Samara-Yekaterinburg’ DWDM channel, connecting Ryazan’, Penza, Tambov, Ulyanovsk, Ufa and Chelyabinsk. Thus, Orange backbone infrastructure in Russia has counted up to 8,500 km and covers major cities in the Central part of the country.

Backbone network resources will be mainly used for providing services to Orange corporate customers. The whole portfolio of Orange solutions – from IP VPN corporate networks development, videoconferencing, fixed & mobile convergence to telecommunication infrastructure management, monitoring and optimization – will be provided with even higher level of quality.
Dmitry Ivannikov, General Director, Orange Business in Russia and the CIS, notes: ‘Within long-term strategy of infrastructure development, in 2009 Orange Business continued investing into strategic projects launched earlier. Along with backbone development, large-scale work on local access network development has been undertaken. So, Metro Ethernet network with more than 20 communication nodes maintaining high speeds for all kinds of traffic transmission (data, voice and video) has been launched in Rostov-on-Don. Besides, intercity CWDM  network was built, which includes main and reserve centers and allows SDH, MEN and other services transmission at 10G speed.

Moscow – Rostov-on-Don’ segment projecting started in 2008. Within the project frames, STM-16  backbone transmission channels were organized and Orange Business reserved macroregional centre in Rostov-on-Don was connected to backbone network, which allowed providing efficient traffic transmission at the joint of local Metro Ethernet access network.

About Orange
Orange is the key brand of France Telecom, one of the world’s leading telecommunications operators. With 126 million customers, the Orange brand now covers Internet, television and mobile services in the majority of countries where the Group operates. At the end of 2008, France Telecom had consolidated sales of 53.5 billion euros (38.1 billion euros for the first nine months of 2009) and at Sept. 30, 2009, the Group had a customer base of 190 million customers in 32 countries. These include 128.8 million mobile customers and 13.4 million broadband Internet (ADSL) customers worldwide. Orange is the number three mobile operator and the number two provider of broadband Internet services in Europe and, under the brand Orange Business, is one of the world leaders in providing telecommunications services to multinational companies.
The Group's strategy, which is characterized by a strong focus on innovation, convergence and effective cost management, aims to establish Orange as an integrated operator and benchmark for new telecommunications services in Europe. Today the Group remains focused on its core activities as a network operator, while working to develop its position in new growth activities. To meet customer expectations, the Group strives to provide products and services that are simple and user-friendly, while maintaining a sustainable and responsible business model that can be adapted to the requirements of a fast-paced and changing eco-system.

France Telecom (NYSE:FTE) is listed on Euronext Paris (compartment A) and on the New York Stock Exchange.

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