MCI today announced that it is extended Internet access via DSL deeper into the Asia Pacific region and into Israel. The company has added China, Hong Kong, Thailand, the Philippines, and Singapore to its Asia PAC DSL network, which previously only served Australia.

The new service is aimed at companies needing access to remote offices and is based on MCI Global Business Partner Program agreements with regional service providers such as Pacific Internet Ltd in Thailand, the Philippines, and Hong Kong; China NetCom for the People's Republic of China and Golden Lines for connectivity in Israel. Services to all but China and Singapore are available immediately – those two come on line in September. Access to major Chinese cities will be available at 512 kilobits per second downstream and 128 kbps upstream.

“The key to success in all of these markets is to offer a variety of access, so we offer traditional dedicated leased line options as well,” said Myles Gene Kearon, Global Business Partner manager. “We are giving the customer the options to choose from. They may have dedicated leased line services to a headquarters office and may want to use the DSL for satellite offices or in the same office as redundancy.”

The Chinese DSL network is a work in progress, he said, but MCI is careful to determine access availability before accepting customer orders. “It is an emerging infrastructure,” Kearon said.

MCI plans to add Malaysia and Peru to its international roster in coming months. The company continues to build out DSL access, he added.

“We have to use a fluid formula,” Kearon commented. “Sometimes demand drives where we go and sometimes it's a matter of ‘if we build it they will come’.”