In the paper there is offered a method for the design evaluation of hardware reliability in communi-cations network elements in terms of standard values of its trunk structural reliability. To carry out a gener-alized assessment of communications equipment reliability in general and for the evaluation of network directions reliability there is considered such an index as availability. With the use of the procedure developed the design assessment of time between failures of southern, northern and western trunks in the telecommunications network at different kinds of equipment and a topology and also at different methods of maintenance works is carried out. The computations are carried out in terms of standard coefficients of readiness for existing networks and communications networks of the following generation without taking into account the influence of destabilizing factors. The assessment of the influence of time for reconstruction of communications facilities upon a coefficient of network trunks availability is fulfilled. The following options of maintenance works are considered: an existing choice when equipment failures at the places are eliminated by experts coming from a regional center; a choice providing for trunks obligatory reservation of communication channels up to each endpoint. On the basis of results obtained the conclusions on purposeful methods of maintenance to ensure standard values of readiness coefficients for existing networks and communication networks of the following generation are formulated.