Asia Netcom has further enhanced its service capabilities inside the China mainland with a new co-operation agreement with China Enterprise Netcom Corporation Limited (China Entercom) -- a value-added telecommunication services and integrated IT solutions provider and subsidiary of CITIC (China International Trust and Investment Corporation).

Under the scope of the agreement, Asia Netcom and China Entercom have interconnected their respective MPLS (Multi-Protocol Label Switching) infrastructures, and have completed all the necessary technical and operational preparations to support customers across the two networks.

"As China strengthens its part in the global economy -- both as a source of manufacturing and outsourcing services as well as one of the world's largest consumer markets, it is becoming paramount for multinational corporations to establish infrastructure in the country," said Lily Zhang, Asia Netcom's Vice President and Country Manager for China. "At the same time, the rapid addition of new facilities as well as the introduction of more sophisticated applications such as voice, now require a new generation of network solutions -- MPLS IP VPNs."

Zhang added: "This agreement will not only give our customers seamless access to China Entercom's MPLS network, but also allow corporations inside China to connect to the rest of Asia and beyond over our regional infrastructure."

China Entercom operates a nationwide MPLS infrastructure consisting of a core backbone with dual PoP redundancy connecting Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou and Shenzhen. China Entercom has also established MPLS access PoPs in major industrial centers across China, with service coverage extending to over 347 cities.

"More and more of our customers are now deploying increasingly sophisticated applications over our MPLS network," says Harris Peng, China Entercom's Marketing Director. "This agreement with Asia Netcom now gives closer cooperation of the two companies to address the customers' specific needs and to quicken respond to market requirements."

China Entercom's customers will now have the option to take advantage of Asia Netcom's global MPLS infrastructure spanning key markets in the Asia Pacific region, as well as key business centers in Europe and North America.

As part of the agreement, Asia Netcom and China Entercom will offer IP VPN services with 5 Class-of-Service options across their respective infrastructure. CoS subscriptions will be mapped seamlessly across the two networks and enable corporations to subscribe to different service levels that match their application requirements. -Asia Netcom