Tashkent, Uzbekistan (UzDaily.com) -- Currently, four 4G/LTE base stations operate within the territory of the Samarkand tourist center. The development of communication infrastructure ran in parallel with the construction of the complex of buildings around the rowing canal in Samarkand. Visitors to the tourist site have spent over 1,700,000 hours on the digital operator’s network in less than two years.

Beeline Uzbekistan has analyzed the digital activity of guests and employees at the “Silk Road Samarkand,” which opened in 2022. A staggering 1,700,000 hours of voice calls and 150,000 terabytes of data passed through the base stations within the complex. This volume of traffic can be compared to 75 million hours of HD video or 150 million full-length films.

“The high activity of Samarkand guests and city residents compels us to focus on expanding the coverage area and improving communication quality. Therefore, we are not only consistently expanding the network of base stations but also, in collaboration with large businesses, developing new technological solutions. Our goal is to ensure that visitors to the center can comfortably share their impressions at high speeds, and business facilities within the complex have all the capabilities to address their needs," says Dmitry Fisenko, Director of Corporate Business Development at Beeline Uzbekistan.

According to the digital operator, peak activity at the Eternal City complex occurred in the first weeks after its opening. In the fall of 2022, Samarkand became the host city for the Shanghai Cooperation Organization summit, attended by heads of state and government from 16 major countries in Asia and around the world. In just seven days, Beeline Uzbekistan users in the shopping center engaged in more than 1,000 days of voice calls and used over 18 TB of internet traffic.

“To develop the tourism potential of the Samarkand region, create favorable conditions for tourists to explore unique objects of historical, cultural, and architectural heritage, and improve the quality of tourism and hotel services, stable access to voice communication and fast internet was essential. Beeline Uzbekistan facilitated the construction and connection of the infrastructure of hotel facilities and a congress center, providing access to communications not only on the street but also inside buildings,” says Sergey Voloshchenko, Regional IT Director of Eriell Group (hotel development). “Beeline Uzbekistan has been a long-term partner of Eriell Group in Uzbekistan.”

The portable base station commenced operations in February 2021, ensuring consistent mobile phone access during the construction of future attractions. In July 2022, four high-power fixed base stations went into commercial operation and continue to operate at peak performance on-site.

During the construction of communication networks, RAN (Radio Access Network) Sharing technologies were used, allowing multiple operators, including Beeline Uzbekistan, to share the access network. Additionally, the implementation of DAS (Distributed Antenna System) involved strategically placing antennas throughout the buildings, connected through a single line to the base station. This system ensures comprehensive coverage while preserving the interior aesthetics of the buildings.

The provision of communication infrastructure ran in parallel with the construction of the complex of buildings around the rowing canal in Samarkand.

“Silk Road Samarkand” is a multi-profile tourist complex that combines business, cultural, medical, and gastronomic tourism facilities. This large-scale project symbolizes the new Samarkand and the evolving tourism opportunities in the region, designed to become a modern attraction throughout Central Asia. Since its opening, the complex has become the hallmark of the country, specializing in MICE tourism, hosting forums, conferences, and events at a high international level, including with the participation of heads of state and government from the leading countries of the world economy. In the fall of 2023, the complex hosted the 25th-anniversary session of the General Assembly of the United Nations World Tourism Organization (UNWTO). For the first time in its history, Uzbekistan hosted this crucial event, bringing together representatives from the hospitality industry and government organizations from more than 160 countries.