Network-equipment provider 3Com has carved out a niche in the mainland supplying its technologies to schools and universities there.
David Tang, president of 3Com China, said the company's 10-Gigabit Ethernet (10GbE) products and wireless LAN equipment had been popular with mainland universities and colleges.
According to International Data Corp, 3Com has a 30 per cent market share in the education sector.
Two universities in Beijing - Renmin University and Beijing Science and Technology University - recently invested more than two million yuan (HK$1.8 million) in Layer 4 switches - from NIC as well as 3Com's newly introduced XRN Interconnect Kit - to build scalable networks to enable voice over Internet Protocol and multimedia programmes.
The Chinese government's mandate to incorporate technology in universities is driving uptake of 10GbE and wireless local area network equipment in the mainland.
According to a recent report from US-based firm Dell'Oro, the market for Ethernet switches has risen worldwide as a tough economy and price war have brought prices down, bringing Gigabit Ethernet to the mainstream last year. The firm estimates that the market for Ethernet switches will climb to US$18.9 billion in 2006 from US$11.5 billion in 2001.