Significant date is approaching - the 200^th  anniversary of Caucasian Mineral Waters. Telecommunication workers prepared a good present for health-resort Yessentuki. On 27 March 2003 new trunk-call office and Internet-caf? were opened solemnly in Yessentuki joint telecommunication center of "UTK" PJSC's branch "Electrosvyaz of Stavropol Territory".

Next year step-by-step telephone exchange No 3 is to be replaced by the electronic telephone exchange of SI-2000 type. Thus Yessentuki will be the first city in the Stavropol Territory fully equipped with digital telephone exchanges. Vice-Chairman of the Stavropol Territory, Head of the Administration of Caucasian Mineral Waters Vitaly Mikhailenko told about it to the governor of the Stavropol Territory Alexander Chernogorov by videotelephone from Internet-caf? at the presentation.

House of the telecom center, built at the beginning of the last century and being a monument of architecture, was reconstructed in modern style and with high quality. Now all kinds of telephone services including videotelephony are being provided here. And the following telecom services will be provided in the Internet-caf?: e-mail transmission, facsimile transmission, xerocopying, work of a customer in Internet, work of the operator in Internet at the request of a customer, sale of service telephone cards and chip cards, sale of Sim-cards for cellular communication and others. Telephone density in Yessentuki is one of the highest in Russia (85 telephones per 100 households).

At the opening ceremony of the restructured telecom center Alexander Roitblat, Deputy General Director of "UTK" PJSC - Director of the branch "Electrosvyaz" Stavropol Territory, said the following:

"It is one of the actions fulfilled by telecom workers within the frame of the preparatory program for celebration of the 200^th  anniversary of Caucasian Mineral Waters. Telecom sector has changed greatly during the last years. Recently our telecom workers haven't had a clear idea of what digital telephony, fiber-optic communication lines and Internet are like. Today it is a reality.

Last year we completed the process of connecting all cities and regional centers of the Stavropol Territory by means of fiber-optic communication lines. Stavropolie has become the first region in Russia to have fulfilled such significant task.

Share of digital technology-based services in total volume of telecom services provided by the branch reached 43 percent versus average in Russia 26 percent. It made it possible to improve the quality of communication and to enter the market with a wide range of value-added services. Besides, digital communication network opens up great possibilities for development of such cellular operators as CJSC "StavTeleSot" and CJSC "Mobicom-Kavkaz" ("Megafon") almost in all towns and regional centers of the Stavropol Territory.

Telecommunication workers pay special attention to telecommunications development in the region of Caucasian Mineral Waters. During the last years SDH-based fiber-optic communication ring 230 kilometers long with data transmission speed of 622 Mbit/sec was built between the cities of Caucasian Mineral Waters. Fiber-optic communication rings were built in the cities Pyatigorsk, Yessentuki, Mineralnie Vody. Such communication ring is under construction in Kislovodsk.

Last year construction of fiber-optic line in Pyatigorsk to the mountain Mashuk was completed for organization of television and radio broadcasting, other cellular operators, radio access networks and other purposes.

Investment plan of the current year makes provision for introduction of new electronic telephone exchanges with total capacity of 20 thousand lines including 2.5 thousand lines in Yessentuki.