MTU-Inform, the leading commercial telephone operator in Moscow, has signed an agreement with the residential-construction association (ZhSA) Alpha for the provision of network services in the town of Potapovo, the head builder of which is the association. In this way, the elite cottage town located in the Moscow region Yuzhnoye Butovo will be fully brought up to world standards in telecommunications equipment for its class.

This project reflects a new stage in the marketÕs network service assimilation by private individuals, which MTU-Inform began about two years ago. MTU-InformÕs first digital telephones with Moscow numbers were installed in the cottages of the town of Vnukovo, located near the Vnukovo Kievskii Railway at the end of May 1999. In addition, MTU-Inform offers network services to the residents of an entire row of elite apartment complexes in the Moscow territory. Among them are complexes built by ZAO Donstroi, OOO PSF Krost, ZAO Tema, NPP Tema and others.

The partnership with ZhSA not only offers the wiring of a town, but also the development of the television cable network, as well as the provision of high-speed Internet access along a coaxial cable network. The digital telephone network, organized along the wide-band cable network, will allow subscribers to receive a high-quality connection from any point on the globe and to enjoy an entire row of additional services - the re-routing of calls, conference calls, call waiting, and others. Thanks to the project, the residents of the town will be able to receive high quality transmissions of every channel of Ostankino, a row of channels of the national cable service, as well as a large number of foreign television channels. These services are open to the owners of cottages in the town of Potapova. (Its population is estimated at above 1500.)

The realization of the project will begin after the completion of the construction of the fiber-optics line (VOLS), which will be extended to the town from the multiplexer SDH, established in the region Butovo, as well as the creation of a distribution network in the town itself. This preparatory work will be carried out by the general builder Potapovo ZhSA Alpha. MTU-Inform will directly undertake the laying of the fiber-optic lines and the coaxial cables, the ATS and head TV station setup, as well as the turning on of individual customersÕ lines.

The deadlines for the project will be announced later, since at the