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China Telecom launches trial 3G services

By Wang Xing (chinadaily.com.cn)
Updated: 2009-03-16 15:55

China Telecom, one of the country's three telecom companies, on Monday launched trial commercial use of its 3G service in selected Chinese provinces.

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The telecom operator has started providing 3G service in Shanghai and the nearby Jiangsu province, according to local media. The first group of the 3G users will be selected from China Telecom's existing broadband users.

China Telecom, which was granted a 3G license based on the CDMA2000 standard, is one of the first telecom operators to provide 3G services in China.

Last week, China Telecom launched the 3G service in Central China's Jiangxi province.

China Telecom plans to expand its 3G network to over 100 Chinese cities by the end of this month and aims to have entire urban regions covered by mid-May. It plans to combine its fixed-line service with the new 3G service to compete with market dominator China Mobile.

The company had 27.91 million CDMA users by the end of last year, down from 42 million when it acquired the business from China Unicom last June.