Unisphere Networks, Inc., a leading provider of IP infrastructure products to enable broadband data, voice and video services, today announced that China Netcom, Shanghai Branch, has selected Unisphere Networks' ERX Edge Router and Service Selection Center (SSC) for its high-speed broadband network, CNCNet. China Netcom, a facilities-based broadband telecommunications operator in China, will use a combination of Unisphere Networks' ERX and SSC to provide a high-quality, flexible network infrastructure that enables the wire-speed delivery of innovative broadband services to its customers.

CNCNet, a nationwide IP network that extends across 17 cities, was constructed to provide customers with a broad range of broadband services and solutions, helping to meet the requirements of Chinese businesses and individuals. Unisphere Networks' SSC and ERX provide a comprehensive system for dynamic service creation, activation and accounting that delivers subscriber activated services, such as tiered Internet and rich media services-on-demand.

The ERX features leading-edge technologies, such as Intelligent Service Quality of Service (IS QoS), Virtual Private Networks (VPNs), Subscriber Class Based Queuing (S-CBQ) and Multi-Protocol Label Switching (MPLS). The unique IS QoS technology prioritizes traffic and ensures the delivery of revenue-generating, performance sensitive applications, such as IP data, voice and video services to its customer base. The S-CBQ technology and wire-speed ASIC-based architecture extends IP QoS to the individual subscriber level.

The SSC was selected by China Netcom to enable the delivery of differentiated broadband services, such as bandwidth-on-demand and service levels-on-demand. Subscribers can activate and control the desired services using a Web-based portal. As a service is activated the SSC communicates with the ERX via Common Open Policy Service (COPS) to complete the necessary provisioning changes.

"As a new operator, we are focused on pleasing our customers by offering them a broad range of innovative services and allowing them to have control over what they subscribe to," said Peter Zhou, general manager, China Netcom, Shanghai Branch. "Since we are not forced to interoperate with legacy equipment, we have the flexibility to develop and construct a broadband network that provides us with a differentiated service offering, better positioning China Netcom for the future. By adding Unisphere Networks' ERX and SSC into our high-speed network, CNCNet, we believe that we will satisfy customer expectations."

"China Netcom's desire to quickly deliver new services to its customers is an ideal opportunity to showcase the ability of Unisphere Networks' products," said Jason Xie, country manager, PR China, Unisphere Networks. "We believe that the combination of our Service Selection Center and ERX Edge Router will change the way that carriers provision and manage services and innovative providers, such as China Netcom will lead by example."

About the SSC

The Service Selection Center (SSC), Unisphere Networks' dynamic service creation and delivery software, creates a mutual bond between service provider and subscriber. Providers can create a full complement of policy-based, high-value services using the SSC's integrated solution of LDAP (Lightweight Directory Access Protocol) servers and a policy engine that communicates with the network via COPS. Subscribers can select from among these services - services such as ISP selection and bandwidth-on-demand - via a personalized Web portal. Selected services are then provisioned automatically - even in mid-session - and usage information is collected for billing purposes. This combination allows network users to get the services they desire, while affording service providers the added revenue opportunities that come from a new generation of premium value services.