Pluton-SV LLC is a provider of electronic telecommunications services in Kherson, a regional center in southern Ukraine. The company has been operating in the market since 1991. Its key clients include mainly residents and businesses in Kherson. Currently, the company employs 10 people, most of whom are women, as the men have been mobilized into the Ukrainian Armed Forces.
Before Russia’s full-scale invasion, Kherson had a population of 350,000. However, according to various estimates, only 70,000–80,000 remain in the city now. Constant shelling, destruction of telecommunications and energy infrastructure, power outages, and the demographic situation have also impacted Pluton-SV’s operations. Due to the fleeing of Kherson’s residents to other regions of Ukraine, the company lost about 60% of its subscribers.
For the past two years, Russia has been shelling Kherson daily. As a result, nearly 50% of Pluton-SV’s networks have been damaged or partially destroyed. Repair crews are unable to promptly fix all the damage, as the ongoing shelling poses additional danger to the company’s workers during repair work.
Thanks to the company’s participation and victory in a grant competition under under the ReACT4UA programme funded by the German government and implemented by the German federal company “Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ), many of these issues have been addressed. With the grant funds, Pluton-SV re-laid 2 kilometers of their main networks – from now on, cable Internet lines run underground instead of in the open air from cell tower to cell tower, as they used to. This protects the networks from destruction due to Russian shelling and enhances the resilience of internet connectivity. Additionally, 6 batteries with a total capacity of 600 ampere-hours were purchased to provide uninterrupted power in the case of a shutdown of the centralized power supply.
Part of the grant funds was used to provide training and re-profiling for the company’s employees, as well as to create a new job position for a fiber-optic line installer. Thus, Natalia, an employee of Pluton-SV LLC, said: “Thanks to the ReACT4UA grant program, I achieved professional development and became a fiber-optic line technician at Pluton-SV. By performing welding tasks, I greatly assist my colleagues, who are barely managing to repair the networks damaged by shelling.”
The management and staff of Pluton-SV LLC remain optimistic despite the constant challenges of war and daily Russian attacks on the frontline region of Kherson. The company continues to implement projects to modernize surviving networks and is also laying new communication lines in apartment buildings. There is still much work ahead, including ensuring the safety of employees with personal protective equipment during repair work.
Reference information
Non-reversible financial support (grants) to Ukrainian telecommunication operators in de-occupied territories is provided within the international cooperation project ReACT4UA («Utilization and Implementation of the Association Agreement between the EU and Ukraine in the field of trade»), financed by the German Government and implemented by the German federal company «Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) GmbH». The grants were made possible by ad-hoc funding from the German Government. The programme aims to support Ukraine’s economic resilience, recovery and growth, create better conditions for the development of Ukrainian small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) as well as support innovation and exports.
The strategic implementer of the programme is the German federal company «Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) GmbH». The implementing partner is Better Regulation Delivery Office (BRDO). The support is given by: The Ministry of Digital Transformation of Ukraine.
The contents of this publication are the sole responsibility of the BRDO and do not necessarily reflect the views of the German Government or GIZ.
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