Case Study: International MPLS VPN Connection Prague — Shanghai for a Manufacturing Company with a Chinese Branch

New Telekom s.r.o. implemented a dedicated private MPLS VPN link for a Czech manufacturing company based in Prague between its headquarters in the Czech Republic and its manufacturing and commercial branch in Shanghai — one of the largest economic and logistics centers in China and all of Asia. The project included the selection and coordination of transit operators on the Prague — Frankfurt — Singapore — Shanghai route, navigating the regulatory environment of the People's Republic of China (PRC) for private data line operation, physical termination of the link in a colocation data center in Shanghai, and integration with the customer's existing infrastructure at both ends. The result is a functional private WAN circuit with guaranteed capacity, operated under a single contract with New Telekom — without the customer needing to independently manage relationships with a Chinese operator.

Why is connecting Prague — Shanghai technically and regulatorily more complex than other international links?

International MPLS VPN connections between Prague and European capitals — Frankfurt, Vienna, Warsaw, or London — are relatively straightforward from a telecommunications engineer's perspective: dense European optical infrastructure, a homogeneous regulatory environment within the EU, and dozens of available transit operators. A Prague — Shanghai connection is exponentially more complex in each of these aspects. Physical distance and transit segments: The Prague — Shanghai route measures over 9,000 km as the crow flies. The optical infrastructure on this route typically passes through several transit segments — via backbone networks in Germany (the Frankfurt hub), submarine cables across the Indian Ocean or the Pacific Ocean, and terrestrial infrastructure in Southeast Asia (the Singapore or Hong Kong hub) before entering China. Each segment is operated by a different carrier and is subject to a different regulatory environment. Regulatory environment of the PRC: China operates a specific regulatory framework for international telecommunications connectivity. Foreign operators cannot directly operate their own network infrastructure within the PRC — they must cooperate with one of three licensed state-owned operators: China Telecom, China Unicom, or China Mobile. For private WAN links used by foreign companies in China, a specific product known as MPLS VPN International Private Line (IPL) or China International Leased Line (CILL) is used — a regulated and licensed method of legally connecting a Chinese branch to a headquarters abroad in compliance with Chinese telecommunications regulations. Correct choice of entry point into China: The private international link enters the PRC territory through defined PoP (Point of Presence) nodes — most commonly in Shanghai (Internet Exchange SHIX), Beijing, or Guangzhou. The choice of entry node affects which Chinese operators and data centers the link will subsequently be accessible to within China. New Telekom addresses these complexities through a partner network of 120+ international operators — the customer does not communicate with Chinese state operators independently, nor do they handle PRC licensing conditions or transit route selection. The entire project is covered by a single contract with New Telekom in Prague.

Who was the customer and what did they need?

The customer — a Czech manufacturer of industrial components based in Prague — operates a commercial representative office and coordination office in Shanghai for manufacturing carried out in Chinese plants. Daily operations require the transmission of:

• Manufacturing documentation, CAD drawings, and technical specifications from Prague to Shanghai — volumes in the tens of GB per day
• Access for the Shanghai office to the ERP system (SAP) hosted in a private data center in Prague
• VoIP calls and video conferences between management in Prague and the commercial team in Shanghai
• Access to a shared DMS (Document Management System) and the company intranet

The previous solution — accessing company systems via a commercial VPN over the public internet — suffered from three critical problems. The first was unstable connectivity: the public internet on the Prague — Shanghai route passes through the Great Firewall of China (GFW), whose inspection mechanisms cause significant latency fluctuations and occasional VPN tunnel dropouts. The second problem was throughput limitation: transferring large CAD files over the commercial VPN took hours instead of minutes. The third problem was legal uncertainty: operating commercial encrypted VPN tunnels within the PRC is regulatorily sensitive — depending on the current interpretation of Chinese regulations, such tunnels may be disrupted without prior notice. The requirement was clear: a legal, stable, private link between Prague and Shanghai with guaranteed capacity and no dependence on the public internet or commercial VPNs.

How did New Telekom design the route and architecture of the international link?

Selection of the transit route Prague — Frankfurt — Singapore — Shanghai

New Telekom proposed a transit route via three key international hubs: Prague → Frankfurt: A segment on the New Telekom backbone network with a direct connection to Frankfurt — one of the largest internet hubs in Europe and a natural starting point for long-distance international routes from the Czech Republic. Frankfurt hosts the nodes of all key global operators and submarine cable consortia. New Telekom has a direct connection to Frankfurt with guaranteed capacity — without passing through third-party transit nodes within Europe. Frankfurt → Singapore: A segment via the backbone network of a global transit operator utilizing a combination of submarine cable systems — primarily the SEA-ME-WE 5 (South East Asia — Middle East — Western Europe) system with 24 Tbit/s capacity and the AAE-1 (Asia-Africa-Europe 1) system. Singapore is a key regional hub for routes to China — it hosts direct connections to the Chinese state operators China Telecom, China Unicom, and China Mobile. Singapore → Shanghai: A segment via a New Telekom partner licensed to operate International Private Lines within the PRC in compliance with Chinese telecommunications regulations. The link enters China territory through a defined PoP in Shanghai and is terminated in a colocation data center in the Zhangjiang Hi-Tech Park area — one of Shanghai's main technology centers.

Regulatory clearance for the Chinese segment

A key step was ensuring the legal status of the private link within the PRC. New Telekom, through its partner operator holding a state license in China, arranged registration of an International Private Leased Circuit (IPLC) — a formally approved method of connecting a foreign headquarters to a Chinese branch that:

• Is not subject to inspection by the Great Firewall of China (GFW) — traffic on an IPLC link is legally exempt from the inspection mechanisms applicable to the public internet
• Can be legally operated within PRC territory without risk of regulatory disruption
• Allows data encryption at the application layer according to customer policy (encryption on the link is not problematic from a Chinese regulatory perspective on IPLC)

Registration and approval of the Chinese segment took 6 weeks — a portion of the total project timeline that must be anticipated for connections to China and which has no parallel for other international routes.

What was physically installed at both ends of the link?

Termination in Prague

On the customer's headquarters side in Prague, the international link was terminated in an existing data distribution frame — delivered over the New Telekom backbone network as a separate VRF instance logically separated from the customer's other data traffic. Active equipment:

• Juniper NFX250 — CPE router with a BGP session to the New Telekom Prague network, separate VRF for the international Prague–Shanghai WAN circuit, QoS prioritizing VoIP and ERP traffic
• Integration with the customer's existing Juniper MX backbone router via iBGP
• Monitoring: SNMPv3, NetFlow, New Telekom Prague NOC oversight 24/7

Termination in Shanghai

On the branch side in Shanghai, the link was terminated in a rack space within a colocation data center in the Zhangjiang area. From the data center, an optical patch led to the branch's office premises in Shanghai via a local operator last mile segment arranged by New Telekom's partner in China:

• Cisco ISR 4331 — branch router for terminating the WAN link in Shanghai, BGP session to the local node, QoS, NAT for local internet access via a local Chinese ISP (separate from the private WAN link)
• Local internet access in Shanghai is provided by a separate circuit from a local ISP — traffic on the private WAN link Prague–Shanghai is strictly separated from Chinese internet traffic
• UPS backup power supply in the rack space

SD-WAN layer for traffic management

SD-WAN orchestration ensures intelligent routing of traffic between Prague and Shanghai:

• ERP (SAP) traffic and manufacturing documentation transfer are routed exclusively over the private MPLS WAN link
• VoIP calls are assigned the highest priority (EF DSCP) along the entire Prague–Shanghai route
• General internet traffic from the Shanghai office (web browsing, email) goes via the local Chinese ISP — does not consume capacity of the expensive international private link
• In the event of a private WAN link failure, critical ERP traffic is automatically rerouted via a backup encrypted tunnel — with the understanding that performance will be degraded

What are the specifics of operating an international private link between Prague and China?

Latency on the Prague – Shanghai route: realistic expectations

The physical distance of over 9,000 km and the necessary transit through several network segments result in latency conditions that differ from European routes. On the Prague — Shanghai route, realistically achievable latency is in the range of 120–160 ms depending on the route and current network state — without ambitious promises that would not reflect physical limits. For comparison: over the public internet passing through the GFW, latency on the same route typically ranges from 200–400 ms with significant variability and occasional VPN tunnel dropouts. A private IPLC link eliminates this variability — latency is consistent and predictable, although it cannot physically be lower than the speed-of-light propagation time in optical fiber over that distance. For the customer's applications — file transfer, ERP access, VoIP — consistency of latency is more important than its absolute value. Transferring a CAD file of 500 MB over a private WAN link with 100 Mbit/s capacity takes approximately 40 seconds regardless of latency. Over a commercial VPN with real throughput of 5–15 Mbit/s and unstable latency, the same transfer took 5–15 minutes with risk of interruption.

Monitoring and management of the international link

Operation of the international Prague — Shanghai link is monitored by the New Telekom NOC in Prague continuously 24/7 using:

• ICMP ping to both ends of the link at 60-second intervals — detection of failure or degradation within 2 minutes
• SNMP v3 monitoring of active equipment at both ends
• NetFlow analysis of data flows for anomaly detection and capacity planning
• Automatic notification when latency or packet loss thresholds are exceeded

In the event of link failure or degradation, the New Telekom Prague NOC contacts both the customer and the partner operator in China simultaneously — the customer does not communicate with the foreign operator independently. The escalation procedure and contact matrix are part of the SLA agreement.

How do the solutions for connecting a Czech headquarters with a Chinese branch compare?

Frequently asked questions about international data connections to China

Is it possible to have a private MPLS link between Prague and China under a single contract?

Yes. New Telekom covers the entire international circuit — from termination in Prague via transit through Frankfurt and Singapore to termination in Shanghai or another Chinese city — under a single contract concluded in the Czech Republic. The customer does not communicate with foreign or Chinese operators. Coordination of transit segments, regulatory clearance in the PRC, and ongoing management are handled by New Telekom through a partner network of 120+ operators.

How long does it take to implement a private link to China?

Connections to China take longer than European projects — you should allow 12–16 weeks from contract signing to full activation. The key factor is the registration of the IPLC circuit within the PRC, which typically takes 5–8 weeks and depends on the administrative processes of the Chinese regulatory authority MIIT (Ministry of Industry and Information Technology). The project described in this case study was completed in 14 weeks.

To which other cities in China can New Telekom deliver a private link?

We most frequently implement connections to Shanghai (the largest economic center), Beijing (political and technology center), Guangzhou and the Shenzhen area (manufacturing center of the Pearl River Delta region), and Chengdu (western industrial hub). Connections to other Chinese cities are possible via local operator partners within China — availability and timeline depend on the specific location. Contact us to verify availability for your specific address in China.

What happens if the international Prague–Shanghai link fails?

A failure is detected by the New Telekom Prague NOC within 2 minutes of occurrence. The customer is immediately notified, and the NOC initiates simultaneous escalation to the transit operators on all route segments. The SD-WAN layer automatically reroutes the most critical traffic over a backup path via the public internet with an encrypted tunnel — with degraded performance but maintaining ERP access functionality. Physical fault repair time on the international route is longer than for domestic lines and depends on the fault location — extensive submarine cable failures can take days to weeks to repair, but are extremely rare due to the redundancy of modern cable systems.

Does New Telekom offer connections to other Asian countries?

Yes. New Telekom implements international data connections throughout Asia — Japan (Tokyo, Osaka), South Korea (Seoul), Singapore, India (Mumbai, Bangalore, Chennai), Thailand (Bangkok), Vietnam (Hanoi, Ho Chi Minh City), Malaysia (Kuala Lumpur), and others. Each Asian destination has its own regulatory specifics and available transit routes — to verify availability and timeline for a specific country and city, contact the New Telekom sales team.

Conclusion

Connecting Prague — Shanghai via a private MPLS IPLC link is achievable — and for companies with a genuine operational need for data transfer, ERP access, or VoIP communication between the Czech Republic and China, it is a more sensible solution in 2026 than a commercial VPN over the public internet passing through the Great Firewall of China. There are three key things the customer needs to know upfront: the project takes longer than European connections (allow 12–16 weeks), the latency on the Prague — Shanghai route has a physical minimum determined by distance and is not comparable to European values, and the PRC regulatory framework requires a specific type of circuit (IPLC) operated in cooperation with a licensed Chinese operator. New Telekom handles these specifics on behalf of the customer — under a single contract, with a single point of contact, and with 24/7 Prague NOC oversight. If your company needs data connectivity with a branch or partner in China or elsewhere in Asia, contact the New Telekom expert team via the contact page or review the overview of data services and international connections — we will analyze your data flows and propose an architecture that matches real operational and regulatory conditions.

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This case study was prepared by the expert team of New Telekom s.r.o. Technical parameters correspond to the state as of the project handover date. The customer's industry is disclosed with the customer's consent; the exact address and company name are not disclosed for commercial reasons. Information reflects the technological and regulatory state as of March 2026.

Technologies and standards used

• MPLS VPN / IPLC — International Private Leased Circuit for Prague–Shanghai connection
• Juniper NFX250 — CPE router Prague, SD-WAN orchestration
• Cisco ISR 4331 — branch router Shanghai
• BGP, MP-BGP, VRF, QoS DiffServ, EF DSCP — network protocols
• SEA-ME-WE 5 — submarine cable system South East Asia—Middle East—Western Europe
• AAE-1 — submarine cable system Asia-Africa-Europe 1
• China Telecom / China Unicom / China Mobile — licensed PRC operators for IPLC
• MIIT — Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, PRC (regulator)
• GFW — Great Firewall of China (regulatory inspection system of the PRC public internet)
• SNMPv3, NetFlow, ICMP — monitoring and oversight by New Telekom Prague NOC
• NIX.CZ — Neutral Internet eXchange Prague
• RIPE NCC — IP address space and BGP AS management
• Regulation (EU) 2016/679 (GDPR) — personal data protection during international transfer