Novosibirsk is Russia s fourth largest city and represents one of the most important commercial centers outside of European Russia. With a population of over 1.5 million, Novosibirsk is the largest city in Siberia, and has traditionally been considered the capital of Western Siberia encompassing Tomsk, Kemerovo, Altai regions, and the Altai Republic. Novosibirsk serves as a distribution hub for these regions. According to the Economic Management Department of the Novosibirsk Regional Administration, 7.6 percent production growth in the local economy was noticed in 1999.
Telecommunication services plays an important role in the further development of the region.
The skeleton of the local telecommunications system is mainly represented by NGTS, a monopoly owner of the local copper lines, and Rostelecom, a monopoly owner of the long-distance channels. Other than these companies, the local telecommunication industry is represented by three cellular communications providers, up to eight paging companies, over 20 ISP s, and over 15 distributors of telecommunication equipment. In general, imported telecommunications equipment dominates the local market. A few local companies produce telecommunication equipment. The company specializes in developing and producing communication, data collecting and processing equipment, such as a SBNI series of leased line modems and SBTC engineering controllers.