NEC Corporation a specialist in the integration of IT and network technologies, and Cisco have announced they have entered a Global System Integrator Agreement (GSIA) to expand their partnership for accelerating the deployment of innovative 5G IP transport network solutions worldwide.

The new agreement underlines NEC's successful track record as a Cisco Gold Partner over two decades, and its proven engineering capabilities to provide Cisco products to its global customer base across multiple regions.

Under the agreement, the companies will jointly drive new business opportunities for 5G. NEC group companies will work closely with Cisco to complement NEC's ecosystem with optimised IP metro/access transport and edge cloud computing solutions. Cisco will support NEC's customer engagements by offering best-in-class products, proposals and execution support.

NEC's comprehensive expertise as a network integrator in both the IT and network domains, coupled with Cisco's innovative 5G solutions portfolio, promise to provide tremendous added value to the 5G ecosystem. NEC and Cisco will make collaborative efforts to further enhance their joint solution portfolio and to optimise regional activities for advancing the digital transformation of customers across the globe.

"We believe 5G is fuelling the internet for the future, and accelerating our customers' digital transformations," says Jonathan Davidson, senior vice president and general manager, mass-scale infrastructure group a tCisco.

"Together with NEC, we are creating a powerful force to drive the critical changes needed in networking infrastructure to carry the internet into the next decade," he says.

Mayuko Tatewaki, general manager, service provider solutions division at NEC Corporation, says, "Collaboration across the network solution ecosystem is essential for continued success in meeting diversified customer requirements and establishing a win-win relationship.

"This powerful partnership strengthens our global competitiveness as a network integrator that drives the customer journey with innovative solutions," he says.

Last month, NEC Corporation and its subsidiary firm OCC Corporation announced the completion of the full qualification process of subsea repeaters and optical cable comprised of up to 24 fiber pairs (FP) - a 50% improvement in fiber count over what is generally available in the market.

The improved repeaters and cable will enable cable owners to construct more robust subsea telecommunications cables that can deliver more traffic, more connectivity in high-density subsea branches, and reduces the cost per bit of a wet plant.

NEC deputy general manager and head of NEC submarine network division's subsea technology development, Yoshihihisa Inada, says that global demand for capacity and FP flexibility is soaring.

“NEC is committed to helping our customers to build up their subsea networks with large spectral-efficiency, lower power consumption and large-scale subsea connectivity," says Inada,

"We continue to evaluate multiple technical options to further increase capacity and reduce the cost/bit of the networks."

NEC designed its 24 FP cable with minor tweaks to its repeater and cable designs.