Cisco Chalks Up WiMax Wins

MOSCOW -- Scartel, Russia's first provider of high-speed wireless Internet, is now offering access under the Yota brand and powered by Cisco's latest mobility technologies. Yota's network provides service within the Sadovoye Ring in Moscow and at the Vassilyevsky Island and Petrogradsky District in St. Petersburg. The network will provide a platform for high-speed, 4G mobile services that will help make "on-the-move" broadband access available to more people.

Mobile WiMAX, based on the IEEE 802.16e specification, is a 4G mobile wireless technology that enables high-speed Internet Protocol (IP)-based services for both businesses and consumers who want to access gaming, music, video streaming, and transfer large files while on the go. The entire Yota core transport network is powered by Cisco service provider technologies.

"As Russia embraces the digital economy, the nation's broadband connectivity has to improve in parallel both in terms of penetration and bandwidth, and 4G WiMAX is the most efficient way of achieving this," says Scartel's CEO Dennis Sverdlov. "Cisco has always been at the forefront of innovation and IP-based solutions, so Cisco was an obvious choice for us to deliver a premier wireless broadband service to our business and consumer customers."

Cisco is providing Scartel with optical transport based on DWDM, a high-speed IP MPLS data network and data centre technologies designed to support high-quality video distribution. The network was designed to support the heavy traffic loads required of Scartel's network while offering an economical solution. Cisco demonstrated full interoperability between its WiMAX radio and core network platforms including WiMAX Profile C compliant ASN Gateway on the multi-service 7600 platform.

"Cisco is excited to partner with mobile service providers such as Scartel to offer some of the most comprehensive solutions and equipment to extend broadband beyond the reach of wired networks and improve users' quality of experience," said Sergey Belonozhko, Cisco area manager for Mobile. "As Mobile WiMAX continues to grow in popularity, we are working closely with our partners to help them achieve operational readiness in launching new services for their customers' evolving mobility needs."

Scartel is now working on plans to build a nationwide 4G mobile wireless Internet access network across all Russian cities. Customers can look forward to unprecedented coverage, data rates, rich media content, as well as uninterrupted access.

In a separate release:

KARAGANDA, Kazakhstan -- Cisco today announced that AsiaBell launched its broadband Mobile WiMAX service in central Kazakhstan, based on Cisco's comprehensive Broadband Wireless Solution.

Facts / Highlights:

• The service is offered under the brand "AERO" and is targeting an area with a population of 1 million people, including business as well as residential customers.

• Citizens and companies in the Karaganda region can now enjoy the benefits of mobile Internet, be it for business, education, health care, entertainment or e-government services.

• For the rollout of the service, AsiaBell chose Cisco's end-to-end Broadband Wireless Solution, including an Internet Protocol IP Multiprotocol Label Switching (IP/MPLS) network core, which was integrated with the public switched telephone network (PSTN).

• The solution incorporates the Cisco BWX 8300 Series Broadband Wireless Access System with Cisco® 7604 Routers, Cisco ME 6500 Series Ethernet Switches and Cisco Catalyst® ME 3750 Switches, Cisco AS5350XM Universal gateways, and Cisco ASA 5500 Series Adaptive Security Appliances. AsiaBell also offers subscribers Cisco modems for use with desktop and portable computers.

• The Cisco BWX 8305 base stations provide Mobile WiMAX (1) access services using innovative adaptive beamforming technologies that are designed to deliver excellent coverage and indoor penetration even in difficult conditions. Cisco's advanced beamforming technologies enable AsiaBell to deliver the desired coverage and capacity with fewer cell sites.

Stepan Vadyunin, CEO of AsiaBell: "We are pleased to announce the first Mobile WiMAX offering in the Karaganda region. AERO is a convenient service for our customers, as it allows them easy, highly secure and cost efficient broadband access. In addition, we are also offering virtual private network and voice services. Cisco's Mobile WiMAX solution, including the WiMAX Forum certified base stations, enable us reliable indoor and outdoor coverage, which is essential for the roll-out of the service. So, mobile Internet is becoming a reality for small and medium-sized businesses and residents in the region. In 2009, we plan to expand AERO further across several regions of Kazakhstan and add video to our offering."

Cisco Systems Inc. (Nasdaq: CSCO)

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