Startec Global Communications Corporation (Nasdaq: STGC), a provider of VoIP services, announced that its wholly owned subsidiary, Startec Global Communications (Hong Kong) Ltd., has signed a VoIP traffic exchange agreement with Far East Gateway (FEG), an affiliate of China Netcom Corporation Ltd. (China Netcom). Pursuant to this agreement, Startec will be able to connect to China Netcom's fiber-optic IP backbone network through FEG's Hong Kong switch.
China Netcom is a strategic investor in FEG and is the third fully licensed telecommunications carrier in China. The company provides open, IP-based communications services that integrate voice, video, fax and data. China Netcom has recently deployed CNCnet, a fiber-optic, IP over DWDM (Dense Wave Division Multiplexing) backbone network covering 17 cities in China.
The newly announced agreement allows China Netcom to route its worldwide voice and fax traffic to Startec's global IP network and will allow Startec to terminate its VoIP traffic in China. The agreement expands Startec's unparalleled reach into the emerging economies, with over 85 gateways deployed in more than 43 countries.
About Startec:
Startec Global Communications is a provider of advanced communications and Internet services, as well as IP-based voice, data and video service to major long distance carriers, Internet Service Providers (ISPs) and Internet Portals.
About China Netcom Corporation Ltd.:
China Netcom Corporation Ltd. (CNC) has been created to build a new generation of telecommunications infrastructure. It will provide a telecommunications services through CNCnet, which currently covers l7 cities in China. Far East Gateway, an affiliate of China Netcom, is a Hong Kong-based international telecommunications company that owns and operates IP-based networks.