In August 2008, N.W.Telecom in St. Petersburg started providing the  “New telephony”  service based on the Softswitch program switchgear, a key component of the next generation network (NGN), to which the Company is systematically turning.

The “New Telephony” users will get a higher digital quality of telephone communication, and availability, without an extra cost, of such services as tone dialing, caller ID display, and call redirection*. “New Telephony” will be charged at the existing N.W.Telecom tariffs for telephone communication services.

When connected to “New Telephony”, the users will get a new telephone number starting with “6” (for example, 6ÕÕ-ÕÕ-ÕÕ), and will be able to retain their telephone number when moving anywhere within St. Petersburg*. For three months from the day of switchover to “New Telephony”, N.W.Telecom will support receiving incoming calls to the user’s number that was in service before the connection of “New Telephony”.

For its customers choosing “New Telephony”, N.W.Telecom has prepared special package offers comprising, apart from telephone communication, also broadband access to the Internet and interactive IPTV services. The Avangard Duo package comprises the “New Telephony” service using the “No Limit” tariff plan for local communication and the Avangard service. The Avangard Trio package comprises, apart from the digital telephony and broadband Internet access services, also an Avangard-TV set of interactive services.

The monthly saving when using the package services will be from RUR 60 (when connecting to the Avangard Duo package at the Internet access rate of 1550 Kbit/s) to RUR 430 (when connecting to the Avangard Trio package at the Internet access rate of 3000 Kbit/s, and choosing the “Grand Premiere” package of channels and signing a “fixed-term agreement” for 12 months.)

Besides, within 12 months from the day of the users’ switchover to the Avangard Duo and Avangard Trio packages, the rate of access to the Internet will be increased by 1000 Kbit/s compared to the rate with the Avangard service tariff plans. Also, when switching over to these packages, the user will get a Wi-Fi modem and a DECT-standard wireless telephone set for free use.

The price of connection of the “New Telephony” service, or the Avangard Duo and Avangard Trio packages, is 1 to 3 rubles subject to the quality of new-provided services.

To get connected to “New Telephony” and the Avangard Duo and Avangard Trio packages, you should fill in an application form at the website   www.avangard-dsl.ru, or submit your application at any Sales and Service Station of N.W.Telecom St. Petersburg Branch, or call the round-the-clock information and engineering support service using the phone number “057”.

Commented Oleg Popov, Commercial Manager of N.W.Telecom: “The “New Telephony” service that we are offering St. Petersburg residents is the first important step towards large-scale provision of NGN-based services. It is a transition to new generation communication services, to the full-scale set of TriplePlay services when telephone operates on the basis of up-to-date telecommunication equipment using the same IP technologies as the Internet and IP TV. Advancing towards the new generation networks, N.W.Telecom already offers pilot services based on the PON technology, i.e. optics to each house. Quite soon, we will offer our customers up-to-date, high-speed services on a radically new level, and will be able to solve another social task so vital for St. Petersburg by replacing paired telephones with individual ones .”

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* Where technically feasible