BT boosts mainland presence with deals

Telecommunications services giant BT Group is stepping up its expansion on the mainland after separately landing major deals with China Unicom and iSoftStone Holdings.

BT signed yesterday a so-called network to network interface (NNI) agreement with Unicom, the mainland's No 2 telecommunications carrier, to enable the British company's global customers to seamlessly connect to about 330 cities in China.

'This improved depth of coverage will translate to a more cost-effective solution for customers who require remote connectivity, as they expand operations further inland in China,' said Kevin Taylor, the president for Asia-Pacific at BT Global Services.

The Unicom partnership marked BT's second NNI contract on the mainland. It has an existing arrangement with Citic Telecom International CPC, a subsidiary of Citic Telecom International Holdings.

'If our customer needs connectivity in a remote location anywhere in China, we can seamlessly interconnect through our partner's network,' said Rod Bruggisser, BT senior portfolio marketing manager for Asia-Pacific. 'China is a vast geography, so a strong access network partnership helps customers achieve a faster go-to-market strategy.'

BT's customers on the mainland include Procter & Gamble, Novartis, Unilever, Nestle and PepsiCo. It also serves large Chinese clients with global requirements, including Huawei Technologies, Air China, ZTE Corp and Haier Group.