December 1, 2005 Beijing, China -- China Telecom will adopt Cisco's CRS-1 Carrier Routing System to integrate the core network nodes of its ChinaNet Internet Protocol (IP) service network in China. With this seventh upgrade of its backbone network, China Telecom says it is continuing its transformation from a network carrier into an "integrated information service provider."

The carrier says that traffic processed by the Cisco CRS-1 platform will then cross the previous multi-router structure of ChinaNet's core network nodes in eight cities: Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou, Tianjin, Xi'an, Chengdu, Wuhan, and Nanjin. After integration, the carrier says its ChinaNet project will significantly enhance network capacity and improve management efficiency, enabling the carrier to strengthen broadband business while laying a foundation for the development of next-generation Internet applications.

"Adhering to its goal of becoming a modern integrated information service provider, China Telecom has taken remarkable initiatives to deliver innovative new services," comments Hanh Tu, Cisco Systems' China vice president. "We are honored to bring our industry-leading technology to the customers of China Telecom, and contribute our experience of serving global service providers to the development of China's telecom industry."

According to China Telecom, ChinaNet currently has more than 21 million broadband subscribers, with a total capacity of 4,000 Gbit/sec, accounting for more than half of China's bandwidth for Internet services.