HONG KONG -- Cisco Systems today announced that Hong Kong Broadband Network Ltd (HKBN), a subsidiary of the City Telecom Group, has deployed Cisco's Metro Ethernet Switching to establish a broadband network that is offering a broad array of profitable high-speed Ethernet-based services.The new Cisco Metro Ethernet network currently provides coverage to more than 2,500 buildings with around one million residential homes passed -- representing over 40 percent of Hong Kong's 2.1 million households. This network solution has helped HKBN lower operating costs and bring substantially improved returns.This new Metro Ethernet network, already the largest of its type to date, will link the majority of Hong Kong's public housing estates and private residential buildings, offering a range of converged IP-based services through a single network including broadband Internet access, local telephony and a planned digital television service delivered via Cisco's leading IP Multicast technology."Cisco's Metro Ethernet solution is attractive for the network simplicity and scalability that it offers," said Ricky Wong, Chairman of HKBN. "This new network provides us with the tools to be the lowest-cost provider, yet still able to deliver a wide range of services on top of the broadband Internet access with minimal additional costs on the network infrastructure. That means it can help us generate extra revenue streams without major costs. Through the new network, we are offering broadband Internet access at a very low cost per subscriber, and yet we are able to provide dedicated 10Mbps connection to each subscriber. With this competitive advantage, we are confident that our subscriber base will increase from 100,000 to over 200,000 by the end of the year."Cisco Systems Inc. Hong Kong Broadband Network Ltd. (HKBN)