Cisco Systems Inc has signed an agreement with the Beijing City Information Office and the China Information Highway Corp. Cisco is to construct China’s first internet exchange, dubbed the Capital Public Information Platform (CPIP). Bill Nuti, president of Cisco’s Greater Asia group, was reported in the Asian press as saying the company will also provide a wide range of hardware and software, technical support and training to the joint venture. The Chinese government is making the move in response to the growth in the number of internet users in China, which it said has gone from 500,000 in January 1998 to 1.18 million in June. China’s five major networks currently have limited connectivity over low bandwidth leased-line connections that are unable to support the growing demand. The new exchange will avoid the need for China’s internet traffic to be routed via the US.
