Russian fiber-optic communication lines have been reduced

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ccording to a survey by ComNews Research, as of October 2022, the top 6 operators in terms of the length of backbone communication networks include PJSC Rostelecom (500 thousand km), PJSC MTS (259.77 thousand km), PJSC VimpelCom (190.8 thousand km), PJSC MegaFon (146.5 thousand km), JSC TransTeleCom Company (78.315 thousand km), JSC Er-Telecom Holding (58.18 thousand km).

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ComNews Research has released an updated version of the annual map "Backbone Communication Networks in Russia", which shows the networks of 23 backbone communications operators. In this section, you can see an interactive version of the map, which shows schematic routes of the operators' backbone networks as of October 2022, as well as the characteristics of these networks, including length, physical junctions with foreign operators, traffic exchange points and bandwidth. We present comments from backbone communications market participants: vendors and operators.

In 2021, according to Rosstat, Russian operators laid more than 30 thousand km of fiber-optic cables on backbone and intra-zone networks. Sergey Shavkunov, Executive Director of J'son & Partners Consulting, noted that the results of 2022 have not yet been summed up, and according to preliminary (incomplete) data from J'son & Partners Consulting, at least 12 thousand km of cable have been laid, of which about 7,000 km are under the Digital Divide Elimination Program. "Due to the incompleteness of the current data, it is too early to talk about a strong decline, but according to Rosstat, it is known that in 2022, the production of fiber-optic cable decreased by 40%," said Sergey Shavkunov.
According to Rostelecom, in 2022 the company upgraded existing and laid over 5,000 km of new fiber-optic communication lines (FOCL) within cities and other populated areas. In 2021, Rostelecom laid over 41 thousand km of fiber-optic communication lines. The company's press service reported this a year ago. It turns out that in 2022, Rostelecom laid 87.8% (36 thousand km) less fiber-optic communication lines than in 2021. Rostelecom explained this difference as follows: "There is no talk of reducing the volume of fiber-optic communication line construction. The presented data (5 thousand km) include the construction of new communication lines only within cities and other populated areas and, accordingly, do not take into account data on the construction of fiber-optic communication lines between populated areas, for example, as part of the project to eliminate the digital divide or the underwater fiber-optic communication line to Chukotka (2.2 thousand km). Distances between intracity construction sites are measured not in hundreds, but rather in tens of kilometers."
A representative of the MTS press service told ComNews that in 2022, the length of MTS fiber-optic communication lines increased by more than 12.3 thousand km, amounting to over 272.1 thousand km. "In 2021, the length of fiber-optic communication lines increased by more than 10 thousand km," he added.