MGTS to invest 50 billion rubles in Moscow GPON network by 2014

Russian wireline operator Moscow City Telephone Company (MGTS) plans to invest 50 billion rubles into the development of a network built using Gigabit Passive Optical Network (GPON) technology by 2015, the company’s Marketing Director Roman Plyachenko said late Tuesday.

MGTS plans to invest its own funds into the project, as well as to attract the funds of its parent company, major mobile operator MTS, and other partners, Plyachenko said.

MGTS expects about 3.6 million households to be able to connect to the company’s GPON network by the end of 2014, Plyachenko said, adding that at present the company’s GPON user base amounts to about 600 subscribers.

MGTS launched a project to develop fiber optic broadband networks via the Gigabit Passive Optical Network (GPON) technology in May. GPON technology is expected to enable Internet connection speeds of up to 100 megabits per second.

The operator currently provides broadband services mainly via the Asymmetric Digital Subscriber Line (ADSL) technology.

The number of MGTS’ wireline broadband subscribers amounts to more than 336,000 users, according to the company’s data.

MGTS is a major fixed-line operator in Moscow providing services to more than 4.4 million subscribers.