Rostelecom has completed the construction of the most complex and longest optical crossing within the Trans-Eurasian fiber-optic communication line TEA NEXT, which passes through the Kama River. Specialists used the method of horizontal directional drilling. The length of the crossing exceeded three kilometers.
The construction process began with design, which included comprehensive engineering studies — from studying hydrology to analyzing the riverbed. The work was supervised by the technical supervision of the TEA NEXT project office and the Perm branch of Rostelecom.
The most difficult section of the crossing, more than 1300 meters long, passed under the fairway of the river. During drilling, difficulties arose due to an area with gravel and boulders. Drilling blades quickly became unusable.
Only from the fifth time, after a complex selection of bentonite and polymers, it was possible to complete the crossing under the Kama River. The main work took more than ten months, and this is without taking into account the preparatory stages.
All construction activities were carried out taking into account the requirements for the protection of land and natural resources. About 60 thousand sturgeon fry were released into the Votkinsk reservoir.
The TEA NEXT digital highway will connect the western and eastern borders of Russia, including major cities and borders with Mongolia and China. The project covers 27 regions and includes the creation of branches to traffic nodes in Moscow, St. Petersburg, Yekaterinburg and Novosibirsk. The total cost is 28.1 billion rubles.
Optical fibers of category G.654E are used for the first time in this construction, which allow organizing high-speed optical channels with a total bandwidth of 19.2 Tbit/s per fiber pair.