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LIMA, Peru, March 26, 2009 - Cisco today announced that Rural Telecom has selected a Cisco® Internet Protocol Next-Generation Network (IP NGN) to provide broadband connectivity and communications to the most remote and rural towns in Peru. The project's goal is to promote rural-urban integration and rural development through the use of information and communications technology.

The project involves the deployment of telecenters, public Internet and telephony access points, in 1,928 Peruvian locations, providing service to more than 1.2 million people. There are now public Internet access points in 1,654 towns, coin-operated public phones in 1,096 locations and home telephony services in 148 homes.

"Connecting people and enabling communications is an important step in transforming a country. The access to information and communications technology provided by Rural Telecom and Cisco make this transformation possible," said Alvaro Merino Reyna, country manager for Cisco Peru.

The Cisco IP NGN has enabled efficient access to all types of communication services in rural communities. It creates broadband connectivity for enhanced Internet use; its centrally managed national platform benefits from a next-generation security system, and it enables multiple technologies and platforms to be integrated on one network.

Since implementing the IP NGN network, Rural Telecom has generated awareness and provided training to more than 20,000 end users to improve their skills and to get the most out of the connectivity and communications technologies. Other training programs are aimed at the entrepreneurs who manage the telecenters.

The project has also fostered the development of local content, such as new Web sites created by and for each community (www.contactorural.com.pe).

"The Cisco IP NGN architecture gives us the robustness, flexibility and functionality necessary to provide high-quality telephony and Internet access to remote areas," said Juan Remar, director of Rural Telecom. "We are able to achieve our business goals by making optimal use of scarce resources and the associated content by using Cisco technologies."

The solution that was implemented for transporting and efficiently managing telephony and Internet services was a Multiprotocol Label Switching infrastructure, composed of a core backbone with nodes in the Lima and Trujillo areas and aggregation nodes interconnected by a land transmission network to different points in the northern, central and eastern zones of the country. All rural towns connect through these aggregation points using a mix of wireless and satellite access systems.