October 27, 2005 Hong Kong -- Cisco Systems has announced that Hong Kong Broadband (HKBN) has become the first service provider in the world to achieve the "Cisco Powered Network Metro Ethernet QoS Certified" status. According to the company, this certification indicates that HKBN has demonstrated, through a third-party assessment, that its Metro Ethernet service meets Cisco's best practices and standards for delivering quality of service (QoS).
HKBN's architecture is based on Cisco's IP Next-Generation Network (IP NGN) platform, which Cisco says is designed to enable service provider migration to all-Internet Protocol (IP) networks. According to Cisco, the deployment of the IP NGN platform enables HKBN to deliver its current portfolio of services more efficiently and effectively, while the Metro Ethernet QoS certification demonstrates that HKBN has the means to deliver emerging real-time, application-intensive business and residential services. Cisco says that the IP NGN platform creates an intelligent infrastructure from which application-aware services are delivered by a service-aware network.
According to a press release, in June 2002, HKBN successfully established one of the largest Metro Ethernet IP networks in the world, which now serves 1.2 million homes, or about 60% of the population in Hong Kong. In an effort to continually improve the services available through this network, HKBN is testing the Cisco ME 3400, an Ethernet access switch designed for service provider needs, in consideration for future deployment.
"We are very pleased to receive this certification from an industry leader like Cisco. It not only demonstrates our own commitment to quality and our investment to deliver world-class service, but also raises the bar for our competitors," comments Ricky Wong, chairman of HKBN. "Every member of our staff can take pride in this achievement, but the real beneficiaries will be our customers."
Cisco says its QoS Certification requires a service provider to undergo an annual third-party, on-site assessment, to validate that the service provider follows best practices for delivering recommended levels of network performance, including latency, jitter and packet loss, and real-time voice and video conferencing. The certification also specifies that the service-level agreement must span the network from customer edge to customer edge.
"QoS is increasingly important because service providers are converging different services on the same network. Real-time applications such as voice, video, and TV in particular, drive QoS improvements to eliminate latency," remarks Fredy Cheung, Managing Director of Cisco Systems Hong Kong.