Cisco Chosen To Be Primary Equipment Provider for China Telecom Net

Cisco announced that it has been selected by China Telecom to be the primary equipment provider for the business network portion of the China Telecom Internet Protocol (IP) Next-Generation Network (also known as ChinaNet Next Carrying Network or CN2).

CN2 will connect more than 200 cities across China and provide premium services to corporate customers. Cisco also will provide equipment for the backbone network in Jiangsu, Hubei, Zhejiang, Anhui, Fujian and Jiangxi provinces, which contain the highest concentration of Chinese enterprises and the highest Internet traffic volume in the country.

China Telecom is deploying the first phase of CN2 as part of its goal of becoming one of the world's largest providers of IP services within 10 to 20 years. The CN2 project will interconnect with ChinaNet's overseas points of presence (POPs) which use the Cisco ONS 15454 platform in the United States and Hong Kong. This allows for international Multiprotocol Label Switching (MPLS)-based virtual private network (VPN) services internationally.

The financial terms of the deal were not announced, but in the past six months, China Telecom has awarded contracts valued at more than $100 million to Cisco.

Jia-Bin Duh, president of Cisco Systems China, said in a statement, "Through extensive collaboration with China Telecom during the construction of ChinaNet, Cisco understands China Telecom's need to maintain a reliable and scalable network and generate new business opportunities. We are very pleased to be continuing our excellent relationship with China Telecom and look forward to playing a part in the successful development of the CN2 network."