Comstar Vice-president for Strategy & Development Alexander Gorbunov spoke at the 4th International Conference Wireless Broadband 2008 held in Moscow during 16 through 17 April 2008.

Arranged by Infor-media Russia, the Exhibition and Conference Wireless Broadband is one of industry’s major events in Russia’s and CIS countries’ wireless technologies market, calling together every year the executives and top specialists of communications operators, telecommunications equipment and technology solutions designers, suppliers and providers, systems integrators, the consulting companies, analysts, experts, as well as the broadband access systems users and representatives of the industry’s associations. 

Alexander Gorbunov, making his presentation as part of the Wireless Broadband WiMax Networks session, spoke about the development of wireless access in COMSTAR-UTS. He reviewed the model-based deployment of WiMax technology for Russia, the issues concerning integration of the existing telecommunications networks with WiMax technology from the user’s standpoint, the outlook for using wireless technologies as the tool for the communications operators to expand regionally, and also presented to the audience the business case for development of the Company’s own WiMax Broadband Wireless Internet Access Network in Moscow.

“WiMax has a great potential in Russia. An optimal combination of different broadband access technologies in one network, including WiMax and Wi-Fi, would allow COMSTAR-UTS’ customers to stay in touch at all times, use the Internet freely regardless of the place and time. Furthermore, given that we are contemplating introducing mobile WiMax into Moscow as an additional service to wire access, WiMax can be successfully employed regionally to establish the last mile,” Alexander Gorbunov commented.  

Topical issues, such as regulation on the broadband wireless access market, the state and prospects of this segment both in Russia and worldwide, the strategy for deployment and experience in commercial operation of broadband fixed-line and mobile Federal, regional and metro networks, technology/business models for convergence of different networks (WiMax and GSM/3G, Wi-Fi and WiMax, etc.), subscriber equipment and introduction of the new broadband access services for end user, etc., were also discussed at the Conference.