On January 23, 2009, North-West Telecom’s last decade step-by-step telephone exchange was decommissioned in a ceremony held in Severodvinsk, Arkhangelsk Region. After more than 20 years of operation, this telephone exchange with the capacity of over 10 thousand numbers was the last one to be decommissioned by the Company in the North-West Federal District.*

The decommissioning ceremony was attended by: General Manager of OJSC NWT Vladimir Akulich, Regional Director – Director of the Arkhangelsk Branch Vladimir Belokaminsky, Director of Arkhangelsk Region’s Transportation and Communications Department Anatoly Sokrut, Mayor of Severodvinsk Aleksandr Belyayev, Head of the Office of the Federal Telecommunication and Mass Communications Supervision Service for Arkhangelsk Region and Nenets Autonomous Okrug Vladimir Lukoshkov, Director of the Arkhangelsk Telecommunications College Nikolay Lopatin as well as NWT representatives, regional branch managers and top managers of the Company. Operators with over 20 years’ experience at decade step-by-step telephone exchanges in Severodvinsk were invited as honorary guests.

During the ceremony, the Director of Arkhangelsk Region’s Transportation and Communications Department and the NWT General Manager switched off the equipment at NWT’s last decade step-by-step telephone exchange (telephone exchange No. 6). Video communications facilities enabled the ceremony attendees to watch the last minutes of its operation on a plasma screen.

“An ordinary consumer is little interested in how the connection is established. What he needs is quality communications and, as life shows it, a variety of up-to-date communications services. So, let’s say a symbolic “thank you” to the good old telephone exchange and go ahead towards new achievements, dear communications workers!”, Director of Arkhangelsk Region’s Transportation and Communications Department Anatoly Sokrut said after switching off the telephone exchange.

General Manager of OJSC NWT Vladimir Akulich remarked: “What happened today is a milestone event for our Company: NWT closed down its last decade step-by-step telephone exchange. An epoch is over. The era of digital technologies has begun, posing new challenges to us. Throughout North-West Russia, including the remotest areas, we have been replacing outdated equipment with digital facilities and building a powerful multi-service communications network over the past few years. The purpose is to provide the residents of the North-West Federal District with access to the unified world space of information and communications. While remaining an indispensable communication tool, the telephone has recently become a gateway to the Internet world and in some areas to the digital TV world as well”.

The outdated decade step-by-step telephone exchange No. 6 was replaced by an Alcatel S-12 digital telephone exchange with the capacity of 24 224 numbers**, raising the digitalization rate for the Severodvinsk city telephone network from 46% to 78%. Now, the subscribers living in the center of the city will be able to enjoy a better telephone service quality, use high-speed Internet access as well as a range of additional digital telephony services such as: automatic redial, call transfer, teleconferencing, virtual number and other services.

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* The decade step-by-step telephone exchange No. 6 with the capacity of 10 100 numbers was manufactured at the Krasnaya Zarya plant and put into operation in 1988. The installation works were performed by OJSC Lentelefonstroy. It was the last telephone exchange of this type to be installed in the Soviet Union and the last one to be decommissioned by OJSC North-West Telecom.

** The subscribers using the services of the new telephone exchange will have their five-digit telephone numbers changed to six-digit ones; namely, the digit 5 will be placed before the existing five-digit number : 56-õõ-õõ.