Flag Awarded China Telecom Contract

HONG KONG and LONDONG, Aug. 26 -- China Telecom has awarded Flag Telecom, a provider of international wholesale network transport and communications services, a multimillion dollar contract for multiple STM-16s to provide a substantial 30 Gb/s capacity between China and the US. The STM-16s will provide full-circuit connectivity for voice, data and Internet traffic between China and the US West Coast. Flag Telecom will providing an integrated solution based on its Flag North Asia Loop (FNAL) system and Tyco Telecommunications’ TGN Trans-Pacific cable.

Flag Telecom said in a statement, "The demand for connectivity is being driven primarily by the continuing rapid growth of IP traffic and bandwidth-hungry Internet applications. The number of internet subscribers reached 11 million by the end of June 2004, growing by 50 percent over the figure at the end of 2003. The user base is expected to expand at 100 percent in 2004 and grow at an average of 50 percent annually in the next three years.

For more information, visit: www.flagtelecom.com