TAIPEI, Taiwan, Sept. 3 -- Nortel Networks will build what is expected to be Taiwan's first island-wide, 10-Gb/s optical dense wavelength division multiplexing (DWDM) backbone, in an agreement with Chunghwa Telecom estimated at approximately $20 million. Chunghwa said it will begin to offer high-speed broadband access and bandwidth to subscribers in Taiwan beginning in the second half of 2003. Nortel will use an optical long haul solution -- featuring OPTera Long Haul 1600 DWDM and OPTera Connect DX optical switching technology. In July, Chunghwa awarded Nortel Networks a supply agreement for optical long haul and metro optical equipment to connect the Kinmen, Penghu and Matsu Islands in the Taiwan Strait to the Taiwan mainland. For more information, visit: www.nortel.com