In 2009, the Khanty-Mansi Autonomous Area (a federal subject of Russia) branch of MTS wanted to expand its GSM coverage and was faced with the problem of communication in rural and remote areas, where there was a long NLOS (Non-Line-Of-Sight) interval. The main characteristic of communication networks in rural areas is a small percentage of users and large distances between individual subscribers. Income from existing users is generally low, meaning the use of satellite communications is an impractical and expensive solution.
The basic requirements were:

WHY farLink?
To meet these requirements MTS chose the Micran equipment. The farLink transmits information (E1 and Ethernet traffic) to remote points up to 100 km in near-LOS and NLOS. It permits to organize local connections for rural and remote areas with low density of populations where satellite communication is quite expensive.

“The tests of Micran microwave point-to-point equipment at the site in Khanty- Mansiysk shows the farLink system is the only reliable and effective solution over this range in the given conditions and over the given distances.”
Sergey Kaunic, General constructor of telecom equipment, Micran.

ABOUT THE PROJECT
At first the equipment was tested in real conditions. Tests were conducted in the Khanty-Mansi Autonomous Area on an existing branch network of MTS in Khanty-Mansiysk, according to the standards for digital channels and circuits of main and intra-networks, approved by the Ministry of Communications. The distance between the existing antenna bases was 75 kilometers; a line of sight where refraction was absent.

RESULTS
All the parameters for the system conformed to the standards and the farLink worked properly over these distances. So MTS successfully used this equipment to deploy its networks with just two antenna bases, thereby reducing costs. Thanks to the farLink system the residents of remote areas in the Khanty-Mansi Autonomous Area have cell phones that work.

ABOUT MTS
MTS (Mobile TeleSystems) is the leading telecommunications operator in Russia and the CIS. Together with its subsidiaries, the company serves more than 100 million subscribers. The MTS mobile network operates using the GSM standard. It currently holds licenses to provide mobile services in 81 out of 83 regions in Russia and the entire territories of Armenia, Ukraine, Belarus, Uzbekistan, Turkmenistan to more than 230 million people. MTS is currently the biggest mobile operator in Central and Eastern Europe.
 

In 2012 Rostelecom established a system for the internet broadcast of voting in the Russian presidential election on March 4, 2012 by order of the Ministry of Communications of the Russian Federation. Under the terms of government contracts, the operator had to provide Internet access to election commissions, conduct elections, Web-broadcasting and ensure the video safety of data for a year after that.
A main task of the operator was the choice of good equipment.
Millions of people in the country watch the presidential elections in Russia. It was therefore assumed that the communication channels loading will be extremely high, requiring the equipment to be of high quality and reliability. The elections were held in a cold season, so the equipment deployed had to withstand extreme conditions. Also it was necessary to deploy the network quickly and economically.

Why farLink?
Micran overcame all obstacles to fulfill the requirements. The farLink permits a rapid network deployment. It allows local connections to be easily installed for rural and remote areas. The technology is cost-efficient and easy to install compared to wired technologies and satellite communication. Micran makes a total quality control of the equipment.

ABOUT THE PROJECT
This system was built in just 2 months with the direct participation of Micran who installed nearly half of all equipment. Within the project new communication lines of 9000 km were built in the country.

RESULTS
Thanks to the farLink system about 4 million people across the country were able to observe the presidential election at any one time. Over 7900,000 broadcasts were viewed. In Dagestan (a federal subject (a republic) of Russia) it was noted that the maximum system load occurred about 25000 times in 5 minutes, but despite such heavy usage, no system crashes resulted. The availability of all online-cameras was an excellent 99.7%.

“We would like to express our sincere gratitude and deep appreciation for the fruitful cooperation and responsibility demonstrated by you in carrying out the equipment supply for the project "Organization of on-line video broadcasts from election precincts". Due to the cooperation between our companies a unique video surveillance system was implemented in a very short time and in harsh climatic conditions. Thus we could increase the level of public confidence in elections. We hope for further fruitful cooperation in new projects created to introduce advanced technical solutions that will define the guidelines for the entire telecommunications industry in our country.”
Anatoly Grib, Deputy Director of the macroregional branch of Siberia Rostelecom, technical director.

ABOUT ROSTELECOM
Rostelecom is Russia’s largest national telecommunications operator with a presence in all Russian regions. The Group is a universal operator and the undisputable leader of broadband and pay-TV markets in Russia with over 9 million fixed-line broadband subscribers and over 6 million pay-TV subscribers. As Rostelecom develops its mobile data networks, its position as a major mobile operator is growing with over 13 million currently subscribed to its mobile services. The Company currently has approximately 28 million local fixed-line subscribers and it is the leader in the corporate and government services sector. The Group is also an important innovator and provides solutions in the fields of medicine, E-Government, cloud computing and education.
 

Gazprom needed reliable equipment to control its network for gas production and to ensure continuous and reliable communication to the most remote areas of this company’s widespread activities. This is essential for the country’s prosperity and the livelihood of the local population. A liner pipeline robot (SLTM), automated gas distribution (GDS) and gas detection (GIS) stations provide a management system to control the transport and distribution of natural gas. Each of these is needed to provide a communications facilities. The SLTM is simplex to telecommunication requirements but the GDS is more complex. These needed telephony, data transmission channels to communicate with remote automatic stations and gas flow meters, as well as telemetry. Marshy areas were a particular challenge.
The main equipment requirements were:

WHY farLink?
Micran satisfy all the requirements like no other. UHF radio point-to-point equipment farLink allows rapid network deployment. It permits local connections to be organised for rural and remote areas where fiber or copper cabling is uneconomic or technically impossible. farLink can operate in the most extreme conditions. Micran provides high-quality and user-friendly service support in any time.

ABOUT THE PROJECT
In 2012 the microwave link installation for gas-distribution stations was completed. Communication service specialists installed the Micran farLink equipment, fully commissioned and started the monitoring equipment system of a new line 70 kilometers long, operating in the 400 MHz range , built with communication towers 25 meters high.

RESULTS
The farLink provided unified communication system networks and a wide range of administrative and management functions, despite the distances involved, thus providing a robust and reliable network communication for the gas industry. It has allowed the exchange of information between many different devices and the efficient use of telecommunication channels.
All the years of partnership over 400 ptp microwave links were built. The equipment of Micran used in the largest gas field.

 

“We work with the manufacturers who are leaders in introducing innovative technologies, for us it's a tradition. We have experience in the use of Micran microwave point-to-point radios stations at our facilities. Over three years, the equipment has been tested, and demonstrated to be reliable and cost effective. With this positive experience, it was decided to use the equipment as the communications link on GDS-1, thus meeting the needs of our communication requirements”.
Vasily Nagornyi, Director of the Omsk branch of LLC Gazprom Transgaz Tomsk.

 ABOUT GAZPROM
Gazprom is a global energy company. Its major business lines are geological exploration, production, transportation, storage, processing and sales of gas, gas condensate and oil, as well as generation and marketing of heat and electric power.
The Company owns the world’s largest gas transmission network – the Unified Gas Supply System of Russia with a total length of over 161 thousand kilometers. Gazprom sells more than half of overall the gas produced for Russian consumers and it exports gas to more than 30 countries within and beyond the former Soviet Union.
Gazprom Transgaz Tomsk is a subsidiary company of Gazprom. The company’s activity region embraces Western and Eastern Siberia, and the Far East.