Source: CCTV.com

10-19-2007 13:31

Special Report:   17th CPC National Congress

Deputy Minister of the Information Industry, Lou Qinjian, said on Thursday that China needs to advance the development of the telecommunications industry by introducing more competition. He suggested at a news briefing on the sidelines of the CPC National Congress that the monopoly of China's heavyweight operators would be weakened.

He said the aim of the restructuring plans is to promote rapid growth of the sector and bring more benefits to users. Currently China has four major players in the sector, with China Mobile and China Unicom licensed to engage in mobile services and China Telecommunications and China Netcom, in fixed-line services. Last year, for instance, China Mobile made between 70 to 80 percent of the industry's combined profits.

Lou also said that there was no timetable for the issuance of 3G licenses as relevant departments were still mulling over the management and operational issues connected to 3G services.

 

Editor:Xiong Qu