KAZAN, Republic of Tatarstan-Hughes Network Systems has installed a digital fixed wireless phone system in the Republic of Tatarstan valued at $48 million. It will initially serve Tatarstan’s capital city of Kazan, with plans to serve 50,000 customers with voice and data in eight cities throughout the Republic.
Tatarstan’s local operator, Tatincom, will operate the digital Advanced Mobile Phone Service network, which will be combined with the fixed wireless system. Eleven cells will be deployed along with two mobile switching centers. The system will ultimately cover all of Tatarstan. Customers will use wired phones connected to multiple subscriber units communicating by radio to nearby cell sites, Hughes said.
The Republic’s existing wired system supports one in 18 residents who have access to a phone, according to Hughes. The Maryland-based company’s GMH2000 system uses Extended Time Division Multiple Access technology and can handle 15 times more traffic than analog cellular, and three to four times more traffic than other digital wireless systems.
Tatarstan leaders hope the improvements will boost the Republic’s economy. “Our continuing efforts and successes here will demonstrate to the region how modernizing a phone system can make dramatic improvements to the area’s economic and social well-being,” said Republic President Mintimer Shaimiyev. “It clearly is evidence of the high priority our government places on building communications bridges,” he said.
