Lattelecom, the leading provider of electronic communications services in Latvia together with Golden Telecom (NASDAQ: “GLDN”), the leading provider of integrated telecommunications services in Russia and other countries of the Commonwealth of Independent States(“CIS”)have jointly launched a new high-speed Internet channel. The new channel enhances Internet traffic speed up to 1Gb/s between the two countriesand benefits all Lattelecom clients.

Internet traffic from Latvia to Russia was previously routed indirectly through London and Frankfurt transit stages. All data directed from Latvia to St. Petersburg or Moscow was first sent to London and then routed to Russia. The new Internet channel is transmitted through Stockholm, which enables Internet information to reach Moscow from Riga in 36 milliseconds or more than twice as fast asbefore. The first beneficiaries of the high-speed channel launch are Lattelecom broadband Internet clients, who may use broadband for network-based computer games or access Russian content.

The new connection supports file exchange programs and ensures access to content portals. It improves the quality of wholesale Internet services provided by Lattelecom to other professional Internet service providers in Latvia and Lithuania.

“We expect that the new connection will soon be appreciated by our broadband service clients, as well as Latvia’s professional Internet service providers, given the major proportion of Latvia’s communications traffic which goes to or from Russia,” said Lattelecom network director Valdis Vancovi?s.

“The signing of the agreement with Lattelecom on the new IP-transit channel encourages the economic cooperation development between Russia and Latvia”, says Andrey Patoka, Vice-President for the Company’s International and Regional Business unit.