Cisco Systems, Inc., announced on July 8 that China Unicom, a leading Chinese telecommunications service provider, is building China's first nationwide videoconferencing network using industry leading Cisco networking solutions.
Marking another milestone in China's impressive networking infrastructure development, the IP-based project is enabled by Cisco 10000 Series Internet Routers.
The network will eventually link more than 300 Chinese cities with video connections over the Internet. The world's largest video network upon completion, this undertaking required end-to-end networking capabilities, the integration of numerous metropolitan area networks and an unparalleled quality-of-service (QoS) solution.
China Unicom's decision to use Cisco products was determined by the unmatched capabilities of the Cisco 10000 Series Internet Routers and a high level of confidence in Cisco's service and support, based on cooperation in projects such as the building of the carrier's VoIP network.
Li Xiaoming, China Unicom's General Manager for Data and Fixed Communications, said that the introduction of videoconferencing services is an important next step in delivering leading edge broadband multi-media services.
He said, "Only Cisco technology and support offering matched our aim in building a truly world-standard video network. In particular, the project required the high performance QoS and carrier-class reliability and scalability of the Cisco 10000 Series Internet Routers."
The Cisco 10000 Series is the industry's first IP router designed for 99.999% (or 5 9s) carrier-class reliability, with both hardware and software designed for total redundancy, automatic route processor fail over and a foundation for capabilities such as non-stop forwarding and hitless software upgrades. Furthermore, these high availability features reduce the cost and simplify the process of network upgrades.
Hanh Tu, Operations Director of Cisco Systems China, said that Cisco has participated in many of the carrier's most significant infrastructure developments.
This includes all phases their VoIP network, the world's largest. The video network project is a further example of Cisco's commitment to supporting China's development of state-of-the-art networks with capabilities rivaling those of the world's most advanced information technology economies.
(People's Daily July 10, 2002)
