January 23, 2005 Hong Kong and Murray Hill, NJ -- Asia Netcom, a wholly owned subsidiary of China Netcom, has selected Lucent Technologies to supply a next-generation optical communications platform to upgrade the pan-Asian EAC submarine cable network. In the upgrade, the network's existing optical platform will be replaced with Lucent's LambdaUnite multi-service switch (MSS).
Lucent says the platform will dramatically enhance Asia Netcom's ability to deliver next-generation bandwidth services with a variety of advanced transport and connectivity options in the Asia Pacific region, enabling the operator to differentiate its offerings from those of competitors.
"The telecommunications business continues to evolve at an accelerating pace with the increased adoption of broadband in the region, and the emergence of applications such as IPTV, online gaming, 3G, and other broadband wireless access technologies entering the mainstream," comments Wilfred Kwan, Asia Netcom's chief technology officer. "Many of these new applications and services require real-time, high-performance bandwidth that traditional service providers can't deliver; a new generation of service providers, with new capabilities and service features is required."
According to Lucent, with the LambdaUnite MSS platform and its support for automatically switched optical networks /generalized multi-protocol label switching (ASON/GMPLS) technology, Asia Netcom will be able to adopt a meshed, network architecture on the optical layer, and offer a wide variety of "class-of-service" options as part of its optical transport services. At the same time, according to Lucent, the platform's enhanced management system gives the operator full control of all network elements, for seamless service provisioning and network management of the EAC system.
"The new platform will not only enable us to meet the changing bandwidth requirements in the market place, but also dramatically improve service provisioning and operational efficiency," continues Kwan.
"Lucent is very proud to play such an important part in delivering a very innovative solution for Asia Netcoms' submarine network," comments Ian Gardner, vice president business development for Lucent's Asia Pacific operations. "[The] LambdaUnite MSS is designed to help our customers meet today's requirements in a flexible manner, while providing the capabilities to address future needs."
Asia Netcom's EAC is a privately-owned submarine cable system stretching 19,500 km., connecting Japan, Korea, Hong Kong, Taiwan, the Philippines, and Singapore. According to Asia Netcom, the system is also set to extend into China through a new cable extension to the northern city of Qingdao.