China Telecom selects long haul equipment from Nortel Networks to expand networks in eastern and southern China
September 28, 2004 Beijing--China Telecom, one of the country's largest fixed-line carriers, has selected optical and data technology from Nortel Networks to expand its networks across southern and eastern China. The additional network capacity will provide a flexible and reliable platform for China Telecom to drive new revenue opportunities by offering advanced IP data services.
China Telecom will deploy Nortel Networks' Optical Long Haul 1600 Optical Line Systems to expand its optical backbone networks in the cities of Wuhan, Guangzhou, Changsha, Fuzhou, Shanghai, Nanjing, Hangzhou, Hefei, Chongqing, and Chengdu. The expansion, scheduled for completion by the end of 2004, will boost transmission capacity to approximately 10 Gbits/sec x 30 wavelengths, ensuring fast data communications for business and consumers.
In addition, China Telecom's Shanghai Telecom and Zhejiang Telecom branches will use Nortel Networks Services Edge Router (SER) 5500 to expand their data networks. The expansions will enable the two branches to serve an additional 500,000 and 1.8 million broadband subscribers, respectively, with enhanced delivery of advanced IP broadband services like high-speed Internet access, IP virtual private networks (VPNs) and 'Green Internet,' a special content filtering and blocking service for parents to monitor children's activities on the Internet.
In the nine months ending June 30, 2004, the number of China's fixed line and mobile users combined increased from 500 million to 600 million, while broadband Internet subscribers hit 17 million with a monthly growth rate of 8%, according to China's Ministry of Information Industries. This has created huge demand for high capacity, high performance network infrastructure across the country.
Nortel Networks has been working closely with China Telecom on building high performance optical backbone and data networks. Nortel Networks deployed the 15,000-km national optical long haul network for China Telecom. The US$100 million network, among the longest in the world, was put into commercial operation in January 2002. In addition, Nortel Networks also participated in the deployment and expansion of a number of regional/provincial optical and data networks for China Telecom.
Optical Long Haul 1600 is a 10-Gbit/sec platform that uses DWDM to split light into as many as 160 channels to maximize capacity on each fiber. This enables up to 28 million simultaneous Internet connections on a single strand of fiber, and increases by 640 times the Internet's backbone speed and capacity to carry data, video and voice services.
Nortel Networks Services Edge Router 5500 (formerly known as Shasta 5000 Broadband Service Node) enables service providers to transition from the simple connectivity model enabled by first generation subscriber management systems to a cost-effective, network-based, value-added broadband services model. By combining cost-reducing efficiencies with incremental services revenue potential, it offers a powerful tool for operators seeking to boost profitability by addressing high-growth business and residential segments from a single network.
In China, Nortel Networks has announced more than 50 contracts for 10-Gbit/sec and DWDM optical solutions covering more than 60,000 km.
Officially established in May 2002, China Telecom is among the country's largest telecommunications operators with businesses covering domestic and international fixed line networks and various value-added Internet services. The corporation has 21 provincial branches, holding 70% of the national trunk-line transmission network assets. As of the end of 2003, China Telecom's broadband Internet subscribers reached 5.63 million, and its fixed line subscribers hit 118 million. A Fortune 500 company, it is publicly listed on the New York and Hong Kong Stock Exchanges.