In December 2023, CGES put into operation a new telecommunications system based on IP/MPLS technology and equipment from the manufacturer CISCO. The investment amounts to €1,300,000.00 excluding VAT, and the supplier is the consortium Telegroup-Čikom-Roaming.
CGES owns its own passive optical network, and combined with the new IP/MPLS active equipment, it now has at its disposal a modern and reliable telecommunications system connecting all facilities of interest to CGES. The new CGES telecommunications system is intended to replace the existing SDH/PDH system and will provide an additional level of reliability and availability for the transmission of services necessary for the normal operation of the power transmission system, such as SCADA systems, measurement systems, operational telephony, protection systems, video surveillance, corporate network, information exchange with EPCG and CEDIS, international connections with neighboring transmission system operators, and many others. For this purpose, redundancies have been implemented in the system at multiple levels. Each location is connected via multiple redundant telecommunications links, both through optical cables and radio relay links. Redundancies have also been implemented at the level of power sources, modular power supplies, processor and traffic cards, and communication interfaces.
In this way, the constructed information and communication network provides a secure method for data transmission and connectivity for both non-critical and critical systems. In addition to a transmission speed of 10 Gbit/s, with the possibility of upgrading to 100 Gbit/s, it is important to highlight the system’s main functionality: to enable simultaneous transmission of different types of data from various systems over a single information and communication network, while keeping services completely logically separated. From an information security perspective, this is a very important feature. This ensures maximum priority and security for critical systems over non-critical ones, effectively protecting the information of one system in relation to another.
Management, monitoring, and configuration of the IP/MPLS network are performed centrally from the National Dispatch Center in Podgorica, via a dedicated central management system. The system features a graphical user interface (GUI) that allows CGES staff, in addition to configuration and management, to monitor the status of the network and individual services in real time.
It is important to note that the new telecommunications system is the result of the dedicated work of CGES Telecommunications Department staff, who participated in the project from design and implementation to the commissioning of the entire system. The new IP/MPLS telecommunications system will fully meet CGES’s needs and potentially enable the connection of all state institutions and entities across the entire territory of Montenegro.
The new telecommunications system is the result of the dedicated efforts of CGES Telecommunications Department staff, who were involved in the project from design and implementation through to the commissioning of the entire system. This new IP/MPLS telecommunications system will fully satisfy CGES’s operational needs and has the potential to connect all state institutions and entities throughout Montenegro.
