SINGAPORE -- 6 September 2000 -- Main board-listed IPCO International Ltd has started to roll out IP infrastructure project plans for the region in line with its move into the new economy businesses.
To kick off the plan, the Company has selected Cisco Systems, the worldwide leader in networking for the Internet, as its technology provider for the first of a series of infrastructure projects.
Through its Indonesian subsidiary P.T. Prestasi Cipta Pertiwi (Prestasi), Ipco will build Indonesia's first intelligent Internet Protocol (IP) network, scheduled for completion in the fourth quarter of this year, using Cisco's solution.
The new IP network, marketed as NueViz-Network, will be built using Cisco's Multiprotocol Label Switching (MPLS) technology, which is capable of prioritizing and delivering mission-critical applications at guaranteed bandwidths and speeds of up to 100 times faster than conventional networks in Indonesia. (Editors Note: Ipco is in the process of changing its corporate name to NueViz Ltd, hence the use of the name NueViz for its new services).
Internet access, high-speed data communications, voice, video, access to applications and content-on-demand, will also be integrated within NueViz-Network via a single Ethernet connection.
This new network infrastructure will have the capability to provide true fixed and mobile converged services on an integrated platform, offering customers access to the latest applications in communications technology.
NueViz-Network, which will serve the more than 50 selected commercial buildings in Jakarta's central business district, is expected to most cities in Indonesia by the end of 2003.
"This project with Cisco Systems is a vital milestone in the history of Ipco. We are very excited about working with such a global leader in networking. We see Cisco as the ideal choice for a technology partner," said Yeo Siah Meng, CEO of Ipco.
"NueViz-Network's highly integrated services will significantly reduce our corporate customers' investments in communications infrastructure. The entire solution will be delivered at a very cost effective price level, at approximately 60 per cent lower than what is being offered in Indonesia today," he added.
NueViz-Network will give companies more flexibility in bandwidth usage when they expand. This pay-as-you-use strategy enables companies to invest based on their current needs, and to have the flexibility of adding bandwidth as and when required.
With the use of Cisco's MPLS technology, NueViz-Network is highly secure and able to intelligently identify and allocate the necessary bandwidth depending on the type of application and content used. This technology enables companies to control costs as well as consume bandwidth more efficiently.
In addition, Nueviz-Network will also provide secure data center for co-location and hosting services, to help companies manage their business communications needs.
"Businesses today require services that will enable them to harness the Internet to give them a crucial competitive edge. Next-generation network services such as NueViz-Network which are based on Internet Protocol will deliver innovative services such as Internet Telephony, IP Virtual Private Networks, Unified Communications, applications hosting over a highly-reliable and secure infrastructure," said Lou McElwain, Managing Director, ASEAN, Cisco Systems.
In the venture, Cisco Systems operates as a technology provider and will work in collaboration with Ipco's team to deliver the critical network-backbone equipment for this project.
Ipco International has also through its subsidiary, PT Prestasi acquired PT Indonusa, a licensed Packet Switch Network operator in Indonesia. "The acquisition is strategic as it would mean that we would not only build the network but also with Indonusa, be able to operate and rollout added-value services to corporations in Indonesia," said Sandi Gunawan, Managing Director of PT Prestasi.
About Ipco
Ipco International Ltd, listed on the main board of the Singapore Exchange, acquired a 70 per cent stake in Prestasi on 25 April 2000. It recently announced its intention to restructure the Company focusing on three main businesses - telecommunications, e-business and technology, and to rename the Company "NueViz Limited" (pending shareholders' approval).
About Cisco Systems
Cisco Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ: CSCO) is the worldwide leader in networking for the Internet. Cisco news and information are available at www.cisco.com.
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