Korean service provider selects Riverstone Networks for nationwide Fiber-to-the-Home network expansion
Riverstone Networks Inc. today announced that Hanaro Telecom, the second largest broadband service provider in Korea, has selected Riverstone's metro routers for its e-Valley project expansion, bringing fiber-to-the-home services to its 3 million subscribers.
Hanaro's e-Valley project delivers 45-Mbit/sec, 155-Mbit/sec, or 1-Gbit/sec data and voice services simultaneously over the carrier's fiber-optic network. Deploying Riverstone's RS 3000 routers, Hanaro will deliver such advanced services as video on demand and Internet gaming to additional high-density apartment buildings throughout Korea, explain company representatives. With this network expansion, Hanaro is extending the reach of its network to more than 11 million homes nationwide.
"Riverstone has been a critical piece of our network from the beginning of the e-Valley project," asserts Dong-Hwa Bae, managing director of Hanaro Telecom's Transmission Network Unit. "As our customer base has expanded and we enhance our network service offerings, Riverstone's solutions have been able to scale with our rapid growth while providing the network reliability and resiliency essential to succeed in the competitive Korean market."
Earlier this year, Hanaro installed Riverstone's RS 8000 and RS 3000 metro routers throughout its network to aggregate traffic from high-density apartment buildings. The two-phased deployment of Hanaro's e-Valley network eased last-mile network congestion in Korea and brought ultra high-speed data and voice services to residents throughout Seoul.
The Korean Ministry of Information and Communication recently estimated that Korean telecommunications companies plan to spend approximately $11 billion to deploy new broadband networks by 2005. Korea currently has the world's highest broadband penetration rate with more than 20% of the population having access to high-speed services. The Ministry further estimated that by 2005, 100% of Korean households will have a broadband Internet connection.
"Korea continues to be one of the most rapidly growing telecommunications markets in the world and is now moving from a model of providing unlimited raw bandwidth with limited services to one in which they deliver true revenue-generating services," adds Andrew Feldman, Riverstone's vice president of corporate marketing and development.
For more information about Riverstone Networks Inc. (Santa Clara, CA), visit the company's Web site at www.riverstonenet.com.