Alcatel-Lucent is set to further transform China telecom’s data network as the Chinese government steps up ‘Broadband China’, its program to provide high speed broadband connections to more than 250 million households in urban and rural locations by 2015

Following the announcement that it would help China Telecom expand its broadband access network in May 2012, Alcatel-Lucent is now going to further boost capacity and service capabilities. The deployment of all IP (Internet Protocol) technology will allow China Telecom to meet rapidly growing demand for high-speed video and data services for householders and consumers on-the-move across the country. The contract was secured through Alcatel-Lucent Shanghai Bell, Alcatel-Lucent’s flagship company in China.

By the end of 2012, the ‘Broadband China’ project will see 35 million new families connected via fiber to the home, 50% of broadband customers experiencing speeds of 4 Mbps and above, and 20 million new households with access to fixed broadband. By 2015 the goal is to connect 800 million web users, including 200 million living in rural locations.

This extra connectivity across the country together with the rise in the use of smartphones, tablets and other mobile devices is driving demand for video chat and other Internet services at a growth rate of 40% year on year. China Telecom’s large scale deployment of fiber to the home, aimed at delivering services such as video on demand and Internet Protocol television (IPTV) to millions of homes across China, is set to place even greater demand for capacity on the service provider’s network.

Under this latest agreement with Alcatel-Lucent, China Telecom will enable the always on delivery of high bandwidth video and data broadband services to meet millions of customers’ needs. This will also pave the way for China Telecom to deploy 100 gigabit per second Ethernet (100 GE) technology for future network upgrade, to enable even faster broadband speeds.

By leveraging Alcatel-Lucent’s leading IP/MPLS services, networking, and backhaul expertise combined with their extensive experience with large scale global deployments, this project will allow China Telecom to meet the growing and diverse broadband needs of consumers and businesses for many years to come.

Ben Verwaayen, CEO of Alcatel-Lucent said, “The application of our innovative IP/MPLS technology will be integral to the expansion of China Telecom’s network, bringing broadband access to millions of people in China. Alcatel-Lucent is proud to be making such an important contribution to China Telecom’s plans and to the ‘Broadband China’ strategy, a contribution which also strongly reflects the key role China plays in our own global presence.”