Shanghai Internet boost vowed
By Zhu Shenshen |
01:26 UTC+8 February 25, 2012
|
Print Edition
Print Edition
CHINA Unicom will invest 8 billion yuan (US$1.3 billion) in Shanghai within the next two years to triple family broadband speed, build more Wi-Fi hot spots, upgrade its mobile network and test next-generation 4G technologies in the city, the country's second-biggest mobile carrier said yesterday.
The announcement came after several reports saying that China's family and mobile broadband lagged behind the world's average level and came with a high cost, industry insiders said.
Within the next two years, China Unicom's average local family broadband bandwidth will hit 30 mbps (megabytes per second), triple the 2010 level. It will also build another 7,000 Wi-Fi hot spots from the current 2,000, the company said.
The carrier, the partner of Apple Inc on iPhone, also said it expected to get 2.9 million new 3G users in the period to hit a total of 4 million.
"China Unicom is fully committed to Shanghai's innovation plan to establish itself as a 'smart city,'" said Chang Xiaobing, China Unicom's chairman.
City Mayor Han Zheng and Chang appeared together at a ceremony yesterday.
In December, Beijing-based Data Center of China Internet said that Chinese mainland's broadband speeds were much lower than telecom operators claim.
Many consumers were quick to embrace the findings of the "fake broadband" report.
As of the end of the third quarter, 91 percent of users had broadband speeds of less than 400 kilobits a second.
The average 1 mgps bandwidth on Chinese mainland costs US$13.10 - four times the equivalent cost in the United States and more than 400 times that of Hong Kong, according to DCCI.
The government conducted an anti-monopoly investigation late last year and, as a result, China Telecom and China Unicom promised to improve their broadband speeds by between four and 10 times while cutting rates.
The Ministry of Industry and Information Technology also announced that broadband bandwidths would be expanded to 20 mbps in urban regions nationwide by 2015.
For the mobile broadband sector, China came in next to last in the Asia-Pacific region in 2010 and 2011 and the situation won't change until 2015, the GSM Association said recently.
China Unicom also said it has chosen Shanghai as the first batch of cities nationwide to test next-generation 4G technology, which provides mobile download speed 10 to 20 times faster than 3G.
Bigger rival China Mobile also said earlier this week that it will build a next-generation 4G network in Shanghai covering regions inside the Middle Ring Road.
Apple is expected to launch its next-generation iPhone in autumn or at the end of this year, supporting 4G network, according to industry officials.
The announcement came after several reports saying that China's family and mobile broadband lagged behind the world's average level and came with a high cost, industry insiders said.
Within the next two years, China Unicom's average local family broadband bandwidth will hit 30 mbps (megabytes per second), triple the 2010 level. It will also build another 7,000 Wi-Fi hot spots from the current 2,000, the company said.
The carrier, the partner of Apple Inc on iPhone, also said it expected to get 2.9 million new 3G users in the period to hit a total of 4 million.
"China Unicom is fully committed to Shanghai's innovation plan to establish itself as a 'smart city,'" said Chang Xiaobing, China Unicom's chairman.
City Mayor Han Zheng and Chang appeared together at a ceremony yesterday.
In December, Beijing-based Data Center of China Internet said that Chinese mainland's broadband speeds were much lower than telecom operators claim.
Many consumers were quick to embrace the findings of the "fake broadband" report.
As of the end of the third quarter, 91 percent of users had broadband speeds of less than 400 kilobits a second.
The average 1 mgps bandwidth on Chinese mainland costs US$13.10 - four times the equivalent cost in the United States and more than 400 times that of Hong Kong, according to DCCI.
The government conducted an anti-monopoly investigation late last year and, as a result, China Telecom and China Unicom promised to improve their broadband speeds by between four and 10 times while cutting rates.
The Ministry of Industry and Information Technology also announced that broadband bandwidths would be expanded to 20 mbps in urban regions nationwide by 2015.
For the mobile broadband sector, China came in next to last in the Asia-Pacific region in 2010 and 2011 and the situation won't change until 2015, the GSM Association said recently.
China Unicom also said it has chosen Shanghai as the first batch of cities nationwide to test next-generation 4G technology, which provides mobile download speed 10 to 20 times faster than 3G.
Bigger rival China Mobile also said earlier this week that it will build a next-generation 4G network in Shanghai covering regions inside the Middle Ring Road.
Apple is expected to launch its next-generation iPhone in autumn or at the end of this year, supporting 4G network, according to industry officials.
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