Rostelecom begins construction of third stage of TEA NEXT trans-Eurasian fiber optic line

MOSCOW. Dec 12 (Interfax) - Rostelecom is beginning construction on the third stage of a new trans-Eurasian fiber-optic communication line, FOCL TEA NEXT, which will stretch between the cities of Torzhok (Tver region) and Kyakhta (Buryatia) and reach Russia's eastern border with Mongolia, the company said in a statement.

The operator of the TEA NEXT project is the Atlas Company.

Construction of this section with a total length of about 6,300 km is planned for completion by the end of 2025. "Thus, the first stage of the TEA NEXT project will be fully completed and the readiness of the infrastructure for the new fiber-optic trunk line between the main cities of the European part of Russia and the territory beyond the Urals and Siberia will be ensured, as well as the opportunity to use the TEA NEXT infrastructure for an extension in the direction of Mongolia and China," the company said.

"The TEA NEXT project is one of the key ones for Rostelecom. The project is directly aimed at increasing the country's export telecommunications potential associated with the growth of traffic transmitted between Europe and the Asia-Pacific region," Rostelecom President Mikhail Oseevsky said.

The company estimates the total length of the Russian segment of the TEA NEXT fiber-optic line at about 11,000 km. At the end of 2022, construction of the first stage of the communication line with a length of about 560 km was completed, connecting the cities of Idritsa (Pskov region) and Torzhok (Tver region).

The fiber-optic line will be put into operation in stages. The first and second phases of the first stage, with a total length of about 1,400 km, connecting Moscow and St. Petersburg, as well as an extension between the cities of Idritsa and Torzhok, will be put into commercial operation in the first quarter of 2024.

By the end of 2025, it is planned to have completed the entire first stage, extending the line to Mongolia and China. In 2026, the entire terrestrial part of the communication line, which is part of the second stage of construction passing through the territory of Russia, will be completed. In parallel, the necessary infrastructure will be provided for international extensions of lines as included in the third stage of the project.