iBasis gains on China Mobile deal

iBasis, Inc., (Nasdaq: IBAS) said Monday that China Mobile Telecommunications Corp. will use its network for Internet telephony.

Shares in iBasis, which operates a Cisco (Nasdaq: CSCO) Powered Network (CPN) for Internet telephony, were up 6 3/4 to 32 1/8, or 26 percent Monday.

In 1999, China Mobile separated from China's leading domestic and international carrier, China Telecommunications Group Ltd (China Telecom). The company now ranks among China's largest state-owned companies, with annual revenues of $6.2 billion. iBasis said the deal extends its already significant footprint in China.

Under the terms of the agreement, China Mobile will be able to route international voice and fax traffic from its 46 million customers over the iBasis Network. iBasis will be able to route its international traffic onto China Mobile's network.

"With China's Ministry of Information Industry predicting that the number of domestic mobile phone users is expected to reach 160 million in 2005, China clearly represents one of the fastest growing wireless markets in the world,'' said Ofer Gneezy, president and CEO of iBasis in a company release.

iBasis competes with AT&T (NYSE: T), MCI Worldcom (Nasdaq: WCOM) and ITXC (Nasdaq: ITXC) according to Hoover's Online.