July 6, 2006 Beijing -- China Telecom has selected Cisco Systems' Internet Protocol Next-Generation Network (IP NGN) architecture as the foundation of its 2006 ChinaNet network expansion and has named Cisco as the primary equipment provider for the project. Cisco equipment that will be deployed in ChinaNet's network include the CRS-1 Carrier Routing System and significant upgrades to its existing Cisco 12000 Series Routers, which will expand the ChinaNet network's capabilities, reliability, and scalability, say Cisco representatives.
As China's largest IP service network, ChinaNet is a public communication platform supporting China Telecom's Internet value-added service development. ChinaNet has 25 million broadband subscribers, delivering Internet access and value-added services such as Internet Data Center (IDC) and virtual network services. Market forecasters predict that China Telecom will have 38 million broadband subscribers by 2007.
The rapid growth of the broadband customer base, along with constantly expanding high-bandwidth Internet applications--including video phones, online games, and video-on-demand (VoD)--continue to stimulate demand for increased bandwidth. Continuous increases of ChinaNet's network capacity are needed in order to meet business requirements, improve service quality, and satisfy customer demand. The network has received seven upgrades since its commencement in 1995.
During the 2005 expansion, China Telecom deployed eight units of the Cisco CRS-1 to integrate and upgrade ChinaNet's supercore network nodes in Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou, Tianjin, Xi'an, Chengdu, Wuhan, and Nanjing. According to Cisco representatives, the CRS-1 has greatly expanded ChinaNet's network capacity and enabled China Telecom to offer data, voice, and video services on a converged IP network while at the same time offering protection on its investment in the system.
The 2006 expansion will take advantage of the existing eight CRS-1 platforms and will enable ChinaNet to migrate to an all-IP backbone network with CRS-1 at the network core. China Telecom's CRS-1 deployment is one of the largest in the world, and the carrier is one of the first five service providers to install the multi-chassis configuration of the CRS-1, which delivers even greater capacity. To date, more than 50 Cisco customers around the globe have deployed the Cisco CRS-1, note company representatives.
"Cisco is very pleased to play another critical role in the latest ChinaNet backbone network expansion," contends Hanh Tu, vice president of Cisco Systems China. "With the CRS-1 and Cisco 12000 Series Routers running on ChinaNet, China's core IP network is among the most technologically advanced in the world, delivering the capacity to meet its customers' growing bandwidth needs."