Enforta secures US$14.6 million loan from EBRD (Russia)
Russian WiMAX operator, Enforta has announced that it has secured an US$14.6 million loan from the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD).
The funds will be used to expand the company’s WiMAX network to a total of 130 cities. The first stage of the rollout will see around 25 cities connected to Enforta’s WiMAX network during 2011 and 2012. Strategic investor EBRD, which holds a 6.4% stake in Enforta, supplied the telco with an initial loan of US$15 million in January 2009 to fund the previous stage of its launch.
According to Enforta, its operations are focused in Russia’s regional capitals, with WiMAX service offered in 78 cities, including numerous smaller cities in Moscow region.
According to Oleg Taynov, Chief Commercial Officer of Enforta’s Prestige Internet brand, this new phase in Enforta’s development will involve widening the network, deploying new telecoms equipment and enhancing business processes within the group. The acquisition of regional fibre-optic transmission lines and WiMAX assets is also possible.
Enforta launches WiMAX service in 2 Russian cities
Russian broadband service provider Enforta has commissioned its network and started to offer services in the regional capitals of Voronezh and Penza. Networks in the cities of Ulyanovsk, Tula and Yaroslavl are also operational and awaiting final regulatory consents. Services in Krasnoyarsk and Samara will be commissioned during June and July. Enforta also announced that it expects to begin deploying the new Alvarion BreezeMax 5200 product upon obtaining final Russian certifications during Q3. Alvarion’s local partner in Russia is Cedicom. Enforta plans to begin services in an additional eight cities during the second half of 2007.
