Russia is a unique country. It occupies one-eighth of the Earth's surface, covers numerous time zones and stretches for more than 10,000 kilometers between its western and eastern frontiers.

As a result, telecommunications are enormously important for providing reliable connections among thousands of companies, departments and organizations scattered throughout the country. It is no surprise that producers and consumers are often many thousands of kilometers away from each other.

Russia's enormous size might help explain why the country's first fiber-optic line, which covers 45,000 kilometers and was laid by TransTeleCom along the country's railroads, has produced such strong interest. With this digital line in place, it became possible to create virtual private networks. Such networks first appeared in the United States in 2001.

The virtual private network is an ideal base for corporate networks. Reliable and safe connections with business partners are essential for any modern company, and require the creation of global-scale networks. Nearly every sector needs reliable and safe communication connections, including banks, seaports, metallurgical plants and airports.

Dedicated channels are convenient, but considered by many to be too expensive, especially for long distances. The time difference – there is a seven-hour difference between Moscow and Vladivostok – leaves only a limited window when partners in different parts of the country can make contact.

For instance, between the farthest reaches of the country, peak business times may be limited to three hours a day. As a result, some telecom solutions may seem too expensive considering how much they are used.

For several years, virtual private networks have seen rapid development in industrialized countries, where it is seen as a universal instrument allowing reduced costs and greater safety in transferring data.

The virtual network is a well-known coded data-transfer technology using upgraded systems and more convenient network protocols. It reduces the cost of long-distance communications by up to 50 percent.

Unfortunately, the new technology took a longer-than-expected path to Russia, mainly because of the narrow transmission band of the country's outdated communication lines. But the introduction of the new fiber-optic line has removed that obstacle to virtual private networking.

"Today we can connect corporate users to virtual private networks at a very high speed, two Mbit/second to 12 Mbit/second," said Viktor Ratnikov, the head of TransTeleCom.

"This allows to transmit various kinds of data without distortions even during peak hours. It is particularly useful that you pay only for the traffic, which is much cheaper than the traditional system of renting the channel."

Experts suggest a virtual private network with 1,000 users will allow annual savings of up to $1 million. The technology allows use of the same line for traditional telephone, videoconferences, EDI and ERP, e-mail and Internet servers.

In other words, this is a one-stop shop for a full spectrum of services. And, just as important, it supports high-security data transfer.

United Metallurgical Company and Russian Aluminum were the first to subscribe to the new service, followed by numerous Internet providers who need a reliable high-speed access to various partners in the country.

It is difficult to think of a more convenient option for Internet connection than the new digital network, which connects 974 access points in several Russian cities.

Even such market leaders as MTS, Megafon and Vimpelkom have come to actively use the new digital line to expand their service areas to cover all of Russia.

At the same time, though, some 40,000 rural villages and towns in the country are still without even landline telephone connections, never mind thinking about video or Internet access.

It is hoped that the introduction and development of modern technologies will reduce this figure dramatically.

The author is a Moscow-based freelancer