Clarent(R) Corporation, a leading provider of Internet Protocol (IP) communications solutions, today announced that China Mobile Communication Group , the largest Global System for Mobile Telecommunications (GSM) company in the world, has chosen the Clarent platform to build China Mobile Net - its new, nationwide next generation backbone network. This agreement represents a milestone in the shift from separately maintained data and voice networks among the worlds largest communications providers to one unified IP network.

This is the first phase of the build-out of a nationwide Clarent-based backbone network for China Mobile. The initial deployment of the Clarent communications platform by China Mobile consists of Clarent Gateways and associated Clarent Command Center software licenses. Future deployments are expected to include the full family of Clarent products including those intended for local access and the development and deployment of enhanced services.

China Mobile Net is expected to grow quickly beyond the initial deployment, becoming a large IP-based nationwide network providing voice, video, data and multi-media communication services across China. Clarent's communication platform was chosen to provide the IP telephony service as part of the China Mobile Net network.

"We believe that our success at China Mobile demonstrates that the converged network has now reached the mainstream market. As evidenced by the deployment of China Mobile Net, we are honored to deliver the promise of the new network to this global leader," said Jerry Chang, president and CEO, Clarent Corporation. "With Clarent products providing the core of its new network, China Mobile will be able to pioneer the provisioning of new services and soon allow end-users to access and control valuable services themselves. We believe that China Mobile will be a showcase leader using Clarent's products to offer many new features and benefits to the very large, untapped market in mainland China."

Growth in the Chinese telecommunications market has skyrocketed in the last year. According to a recent research report by Gartner Dataquest, in the first quarter of 2000, China's mobile phone users climbed to 51.7 million, surpassing Japan's 51.1 million.

(Business Wire)