Synterra, who provide national telecommunications services across the vast Russian Federation, inked a master services agreement with Verizon that will allow Synterra customers in Russia to expand their geographic presence by accessing Verizon’s advanced global communications network which spans six continents.

In return, Verizon will be able to leverage the Synterra network and send customer traffic to major cities throughout Russia.

Both companies say the joint agreement, signed in Moscow a few days ago during the week of the US-Russian presidential summit, will provide significant benefits to their customers.

Under the agreement, independent telecommunications system operators in Russia will send their traffic to the Synterra data centre in Moscow, where the traffic will be transferred to the Verizon Business global network.  Verizon’s network will provide Synterra customers with access to more than 150 countries, 2,700 cities and 200 data centres located around the world, as well as to Verizon’s voice, data, video and IP services.

Verizon will use Synterra’s Moscow data centre to deliver customer traffic directly to the Synterra network.

General director of Synterra, Vitaly Slisen, said the “signing of this agreement between one of the biggest communications companies in the world, Verizon Business, and the Russian national communications service provider Synterra is an important step on the way to innovative cooperation between our countries and the realisation of arrangements of the world summit concerning the development of the information society.”
 
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For his part, Blair Crump, Verizon Business group president of worldwide sales, put his own presidential stamp on the deal with Synterra, commenting that the agreement with Synterra would expand the reach and service offerings for Verizon Business enterprise customers throughout Russia.

Crump said that, in 1996, a Verizon Business predecessor company had begun offering multinational customers communications services to Russia, with one of the most recent offerings a fast-growing private IP service.

“Verizon Business is focused on providing communications solutions for our enterprise, government and wholesale customers around the world. Our expansive global network infrastructure gives our Verizon Business customers a firm foundation on which to build their future success.
 
“With this new agreement, Synterra customers also will have the opportunity to use our advanced global network for their communications needs, while our Verizon Business customers can expand into additional Russian cities.”

During the signing ceremony in Moscow, Detlef Eppig, director of Verizon Business operations and technology for Central and Eastern Europe, said the Russian market was a growing region for international business, and he said Verizon had many multinational customers with company locations in Russia and looked forward to “offering them more network services, connections to more cities and diversity for their mission-critical communications needs.”

According to Eppig, the agreement with Synterra gives Verizon the opportunity to strengthen its position in Russia.

The Synterra Group bring together a number of communication service providers in Russia including Synterra, PeterStar, Global Teleport, Synterra Ural and a number of regional communication service providers that have been working in the Russian the telecommunication market since 1992.

The companies in the Synterra Group are licensed for providing local telephone services in 22 regions of the Russian Federation, as well as long-distance and international telephone services, data communication services, telematic communication services and communication links all around the Russian Federation.