| Netcom selects NEC to lay sea cable line |
|
| Wednesday,June 29,2005 Posted: 09:40 BJT(0140 GMT) China Daily |
BEIJING, June 29 -- China Netcom Group has selected Japan's NEC Corp to lay a submarine cable line connected to its Qingdao International submarine cable landing station, the firm announced yesterday.
The companies signed a US$24 million investment contract in Beijing.
According to the agreement, a 350-kilometre-long branch submarine cable line will be deployed based on the existing East Asia Cable (EAC).
EAC is a 17,700-kilometre-long international submarine cable line that connects Hong Kong, Taiwan, Singapore, South Korea, Japan and the Philippines.
The new cable line, with a capacity of 40 gigabytes, is due to be completed in May next year.
"The deployment of the new cable line is another major step for us to further carry out our international strategies this year," said Zhao Jidong, deputy general manager of China Netcom Group.
"It is very helpful and meaningful for us to become a real regional leading telecom carrier," he said.
The new line will enable China Netcom, the country's second-largest fixed line carrier, to control a direct cable connection between the mainland and neighbouring countries and regions.
"It will provide a better choice for international business between China and Northern Asian countries, especially for Internet businesses," said Zhao.
He also stated the new cable line will play a leading role in serving the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games.
The company signed an agreement with the Beijing Organization Committee for the 29th Olympics in July last year to provide fixed line telecom related services.
"We see a new growth area as there is more international telecommunications traffic originating from or terminating in China, since China has become the global manufacturing powerhouse and emerged as a leader of the regional economy," said Edward Tian, vice-chairman of China Netcom in a previous interview.
International telecom business is registering dramatic growth in the Asia Pacific, especially between China, South Korea and Japan.
Tian said China Netcom will take advantage of its extensive networks to develop more international businesses.
Internal sources say the company has total global bandwidth of 160 gigabytes.
China Netcom is the only domestic operator with wide network coverage - in 11 countries and regions in the Asia Pacific.
"Our target is to enhance business for enterprise clients, lower costs and cut capital expenditure so as to meet our customers' demands and achieve good fiscal results," said Tian.
The current focus of business is the Asia Pacific, particularly North and Southeast Asia.
To become more competitive, China Netcom has teamed up with PCCW Ltd, Hong Kong's largest fixed line operator.
In January, China Netcom bought a 20 per cent stake in PCCW for US$1 billion to concentrate on China-oriented investment opportunities including wireless services, broadband video conferencing, Internet Protocol TV and property projects.
(Source: China Daily)
|