Enhanced capacity in Hong Kong
CT will build, operate and manage colocation areas for two of the new buildings, which are due to come on-stream in Q4 2017. CT has also expanded its Shatin data centre in Hong Kong with the addition of one new floor for increased server capacity. It opened to the market in April 2017.
The announcement of CT’s added capacity in Hong Kong follows a cooperation agreement signed in April by CT, Global Switch, a leading developer of large-scale, carrier- and cloud-neutral data centres around the world, and Daily-Tech, a developer and operator of data centre infrastructure throughout China.
The arrangement means CT can tap into Global Switch’s extensive data centre capacity outside mainland China. This includes Global Switch’s Tseung Kwan O data centre in Hong Kong, which is currently being built. Global Switch owns the five-building site; CT will develop and manage colocation areas for two of the buildings.
With a total building area of 45,000 square meters and power capacity of up to 70 mega-volt amps (MVA), Tseung Kwan O promises a number of advantages, including:
- Tier 3 status: also providing access to local and international Tier 1 and Tier 2 carriers
- Cloud and carrier neutrality: giving enterprises a choice of hosting, infrastructure and connectivity services
- Connectivity to three submarine cables: the Asia-Pacific Gateway, Asia Submarine-cable Express and East Asia Crossing lines will all land in the adjacent Tseung Kwan O cable station
- Direct links to Hong Kong’s financial hub: easy access to the nearby Hong Kong stock exchange; HKEX colocation facility occupies the same industrial complex
- Low carbon footprint: targeting LEED Gold and BEAM PLUS Gold ratings for long-term energy efficiency
“China Telecom is proud to be enhancing its Hong Kong data centre portfolio with the expansion of its best-in-class Shatin facility and the addition of a new site at Tseung Kwan O in partnership with Global Switch," says CTA president Joe Han.
Strengthening North American PoPs
Meanwhile, China Telecom Americas (CTA) has widened its network coverage in North America with three new PoPs at Viawest’s Hillsboro, Oregon, data centre; the Chicago Mercantile Exchange (CME Group) facility in Aurora, Illinois; and a third at Cologix’s Montreal, Quebec, facility.
- Hillboro PoP: 2(N+1) redundancy: ensuring comprehensive back-up power cover; diverse connectivity: extensive cloud and carrier interconnections; No city or state taxes: lowering the cost of colocation
- Aurora PoP: High-speed access: to major APAC financial centres in Hong Kong, Shanghai, Shenzhen and beyond; one-stop shop: for low-latency global connectivity
- Montreal PoP: A robust cloud ecosystem: including private connections that circumvent the public internet; access to Microsoft Azure ExpressRoute: giving optimised speed and scalable connectivity
CTA’s network of PoP servers brings data closer to end users and cuts round-trip time to speed up content delivery and data transmission rates. The three new PoPs will ensure that North American businesses can provide faster, more reliable delivery in China and beyond.
“Equally, we look forward to China Telecom Americas’ points of presence in Oregon and Illinois playing a key role in our North American data transmission and end-to-end network services,” says Han.
China Telecom plan
These moves come as 35% of enterprises in data-heavy industries are predicted to embrace formal data centre organisation and governance by 2018, with the digital transformation economy increasingly demanding isolated, lights-out server rooms.
And rapidly maturing, next-generation technology such as cognitive artificial intelligence, machine learning, adaptive security architecture and blockchain ledgers are set to drive further investment in flexible data centre and content delivery solutions.
CT’s network expansion will therefore bolster its trans-Pacific proposition to ensure it stays ahead of bandwidth demand by offering customers hosting solutions and direct connectivity to ChinaNet, China’s largest internet backbone, and CN2, China Telecom’s next-generation MPLS network.
Han adds: “Our customers are innovators, who rely on our network solutions to help their businesses grow. China Telecom’s latest investment in Hong Kong data centres and North America points of presence means our customers can expect reliable, low-latency, worldwide connectivity. This will enable them to deploy applications fast and flexibly.”
