May 28 2009, Moscow, Rome: COMSTAR – United TeleSystems (COMSTAR-UTS, LSE: CMST), the leading provider of integrated telecommunication services in Russia and the CIS, and Telecom Italia Sparkle S.p.A., one of the major telecom operators in Europe, a member of Telecom Italia Group, announced today a contract to provide connectivity between their long-distance communication networks and deliver international voice transit service.

The contract includes organization, technical and economic terms and conditions regarding the mutual transit of international voice traffic. Under the established inter-network operation, COMSTAR-UTS and Telecom Italia Sparkle provide a virtual transit service to each other to enable operators to route specific volumes of their international outcoming voice traffic for various routes. Transmission of voice traffic for direct dial of international dialing number (IDD) directed from one operator to another is also subject to the contract.

Each of the companies independently organizes transport channels and supports technical means necessary to arrange a connection up to the equipment owned by them and installed in Ankotel communications house (Frankfurt, Germany). COMSTAR-UTS provide internal wiring and crossing of communication lines between the terminal equipment in transit node of network connectivity. Under the contract, the operators will exchange traffic volume forecasts calculated as the amount of minutes per month for each of the destination points. This will enable appropriate fund allocation necessary to ensure efficient interaction between networks of both operators which will result in uniform traffic distribution and high quality long-distance communication services.

Sergey Pridantsev, President of COMSTAR-UTS, says, “In 2008 we promptly build and launched a long-distance communication network and started to deliver services to our subscribers. However, to further develop international/long-distance communications it is necessary to boost the capacity of backbones and update IP transport system. To solve this strategic task, we’ve signed a traffic transit contract with one of the largest telecom operators in Europe, Telecom Italia Sparkle, which transports more than a half of the whole international transit traffic in the Mediterranean region. Such partnership is very important for us.”

Dr. Stefano Mazzitelli, CEO of Telecom Italia Sparkle, says, “Our partnership under this project with one of the major Russian operators, COMSTAR-UTS, opens for us opportunities for cooperation in various telecom sectors. We expect that the contract for providing connectivity between our telecom networks will enable us to deliver high quality services and monitor traffic transmission.”