February 21, 2006 Petah Tikva, Israel -- Korea's SK Group announced that it has again selected ECI Telecom's optical platform for a nationwide expansion of the group's long-haul DWDM backbone network. The deal is part of an ongoing relationship between the two companies. ECI says its platform will enable SK Group to provide 3G services and e-government applications in South Korea. The contract is expected to exceed $20 million over the next five years.
According to a press release, SK Group will deploy ECI's XDM multi-service provisioning platform (MSPP) for the network expansion. ECI says the platform's converged architecture design allows SK Group to add new digital and multimedia services as well as to provide a long haul DWDM backbone. The backbone infrastructure will include 33 nodes covering all of South Korea reaching more than 1,200 km. SK's network will be managed by ECI's LightSoft network management system software, to enable remote viewing and management of multiple layers and services within the network.
"As both a mobile service provider and a carrier's carrier, we face new demands from our customers for additional capacity and applications that require us to develop our existing network most effectively," says a representative for SK Group. "We were very impressed with ECI's leading-edge technological solutions and excellent support from our previous deployment. and thus decided to continue the expansion, choosing ECI once again for our long haul backbone network."
"As SK Group is building out its long-haul DWDM network, we are very pleased to assist with the expansion, and honored that they have again chosen to work with us," concludes Rafi Maor, president and CEO of ECI Telecom. "This latest order shows the flexibility of our solutions to meet demands for new services in a very competitive climate."