BT wins Asian contract

BT has won an international contract for networking services with Midea Group, a Chinese manufacturer.

Under the deal, BT will provide a multi-protocol label switching (MPLS) network between Midea's sites in 10 countries, including Hong Kong, Singapore, Germany, France, Spain, Italy, Netherlands, the United States, Canada and Mexico. BT says the contract will run for at least two years.

Midea was founded in 1968, and exports white goods such as household and commercial air-conditioners, refrigerators, washing machines, electric cookers, water dispensers, microwave ovens internationally. The manufacturer will use the MPLS services both to run its private network and for internet access, according to BT.

The contract with Midea is part of a push by BT to boost its business with Chinese companies.

"This first contract with Midea demonstrates the trust Chinese companies have in BT's MPLS solutions as they continue to expand [their] operations both at home and abroad," said Kevin Taylor, president of BT Asia Pacific. "At BT we are happy to help China build leading global brands by providing the global networked IT infrastructure that connects them to the global marketplace."