22.12.2010, 13:56
EBRD Loans RUB 450 mln to Russian Broadband Provider
OREANDA-NEWS. December 22, 2010. Four-year loan to help spread Enforta’s broadband network to nearly 130 Russian cities A 450-million rouble EBRD loan signed today will help the leading Russian wireless broadband operator, a wholly-owned subsidiary of the Netherlands-registered Enforta B.V., extend its nationwide network to nearly 130 Russian cities in all.
The four-year unsecured loan to LLC Prestige Internet will fund Enforta’s latest expansion plan in the regions of Russia. The plan is for over 25 cities to be connected to wireless broadband internet services in 2011-2012, using WiMax technology.
Of the cities on the list, 15 have populations of between one million and 250,000 while nine have less than 250,000 inhabitants. Russia now boasts 59 million internet users, placing it seventh in world rankings, but there are wide disparities when it comes to accessing broadband. In Moscow, broadband penetration is by now almost 80 percent but the average rate in the regions of Russia is still below 20 percent.
“The latest EBRD support for Enforta will help spread internet access across the regions further, providing affordable communications, particularly for the small and medium-sized businesses at the heart of the EBRD’s mandate and on which hopes of a successful recovery largely lie,” said Alain Pilloux, the EBRD’s Managing Director for Industry and Commerce who also heads the Bank’s Telecoms team.
“This new phase in Enforta’s development will involve widening the network, deploying new telecoms equipment and enhancing business processes within the group,” commented Oleg Taynov, Chief Commercial Officer of Enforta’s Russian subsidiary, Prestige-Internet. “The acquisition of regional fibre-optic transmission lines and WiMax assets is also possible,” Mr. Taynov added.
The EBRD advanced it a four-year loan of USD15 million at the end of 2008 to finance the group’s previous Russian regional roll-out. The Bank holds a 6.4 percent direct stake in Enforta B.V.
The four-year unsecured loan to LLC Prestige Internet will fund Enforta’s latest expansion plan in the regions of Russia. The plan is for over 25 cities to be connected to wireless broadband internet services in 2011-2012, using WiMax technology.
Of the cities on the list, 15 have populations of between one million and 250,000 while nine have less than 250,000 inhabitants. Russia now boasts 59 million internet users, placing it seventh in world rankings, but there are wide disparities when it comes to accessing broadband. In Moscow, broadband penetration is by now almost 80 percent but the average rate in the regions of Russia is still below 20 percent.
“The latest EBRD support for Enforta will help spread internet access across the regions further, providing affordable communications, particularly for the small and medium-sized businesses at the heart of the EBRD’s mandate and on which hopes of a successful recovery largely lie,” said Alain Pilloux, the EBRD’s Managing Director for Industry and Commerce who also heads the Bank’s Telecoms team.
“This new phase in Enforta’s development will involve widening the network, deploying new telecoms equipment and enhancing business processes within the group,” commented Oleg Taynov, Chief Commercial Officer of Enforta’s Russian subsidiary, Prestige-Internet. “The acquisition of regional fibre-optic transmission lines and WiMax assets is also possible,” Mr. Taynov added.
The EBRD advanced it a four-year loan of USD15 million at the end of 2008 to finance the group’s previous Russian regional roll-out. The Bank holds a 6.4 percent direct stake in Enforta B.V.
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