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Golden Telecom Inc., an integrated telecommunications and Internet service provider operating in Russia and the Commonwealth of Independent States, has announced the start of a Wi-Fi city network beta-testing project in Moscow.

The project is being carried out within the broadband network service development program for the mass market. Golden Telecom’s management are convinced that realizing this long-term strategy will ensure the company’s leading position as a broadband Internet access provider using wire-connected and wireless technologies.

Currently the operator is also laying a fiber-optic channel that will service a few dozens of Russian cities and towns. According to iKS-Consulting, the territory the channel covers has a population of 63.5 million people, which is about 45% of Russia’s total population.

The Golden Wi-Fi will become the largest wireless network in Europe and second largest in the whole world. In terms of the number of hot spots the Moscow project has outpaced such cities as San-Francisco, Philadelphia and London.

According to Dmitri Bragin, Golden Telecom vice president and head of Mass Market Department, the wireless network construction has been under way since the summer of 2006. Nortel provides the hot spots hardware. Currently, Golden Telecom has installed over 6,000 base stations, of which 5,000 have already entered service. In January 2007 Golden Telecom expects to provide full service coverage in Moscow. By that time the total number of Golden Wi-Fi hot spots is expected to reach seven thousand in the Russian capital.

According to Dmitri Bragin, the Wi-Fi infrastructure testing started in mid-November. The company has assessed the preliminary testing results as very encouraging. Over a period of one month around 25,000 people have registered in the network. Fifteen thousand of them made their choice in favor of the wireless access service. During the testing period, Golden Telecom has offered to lend wireless cards to subscribers whose computers do not support the Wi-Fi technology.

Till the end of January 2007 Golden Telecom will provide broadband services free of charge. After that the services will go commercial. According to Bragin, the subscribers will be able to choose between a fixed payment monthly tariff plan and time-based billing.

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