Nortel Networks and China  Unicom recently signed multi-million dollar contracts to help  China Unicom deploy multi-service backbone and optical ethernet  networks in Beijing and nine provinces in east and central China.

   Nortel Networks announced here Friday the 12 projects worth 18  million U.S. dollars, will allow China Unicom to provide data,  voice, IP service, frame relay, IP VPNs (Virtual Private Networks) and other end-to-end data services, thus greatly expanding its  capacity to capitalize on China's burgeoning telecommunications  market.

   In addition, Nortel will build a multi-service network in south China's Guangdong Province for China Unicom.

   Robert Mao, chief executive officer of Nortel Networks (China), said that the new multi-service networks will redefine the cost,  reliability, quality and profitability of the Internet for  consumers, businesses, public institutions and government agencies in China.

   "They will lower networking and operating costs, enable new  high-value broadband services, accelerate the delivery of  personalized content, and unleash new business and e-Business  models based on unconstrained bandwidth and a common transparent  IP architecture," he added.

   Nortel Networks is one of the largest telecommunications  technology, products and solutions providers in the world and it  is the biggest exporter in Canada.