Russia’s Rostelecom plans to invest up to R300 billion (€4.04 billion) on upgrading its network over the next five years.
Kommersant reports that the process will include the introduction of software-defined networking (SDN) and network virtualisation technology functions (NFV), for which some R60 billion will be allocated.
Quoting Sergei Kalugin, the company’s president, it adds that the proceeds of the sale of treasury shares (16.24%) in Rostelecom could be used to pay for the upgrade.
However, the market conditions are currently not right to undertake such a sale.
Rostelecom is expected to finish the construction of fibre-optic networks, covering 33 million households, by the end of this year.
According to Kalugin, the transition to SDN and NFV is is needed to simplify network management and provide a faster time to market for new services.
