Asia Pacific

Reuters reports today that China's government has announced its three mobile operators will spend CNY400 billion (US$58.5 billion) over the next three years building 3G networks.

China Mobile, the world's largest mobile operator by subscribers, has been announced as a winner in an auction of so-called 'Broadband Wireless Access' spectrum in Hong Kong.

Huawei, Motorola and Ericsson are reported to have been the biggest winners in the latest WCDMA infrastructure tender from China Unicom, Cellular News reports, citing a South China Morning Post report.

Japan's four main mobile operators - NTT DoCoMo, KDDI, Softbank Mobile and Emobile - have been granted permission to apply for new frequency bands designed for LTE deployment in the country, reports The Mainichi Daily News.

Vodafone chief executive Vittorio Colao has hinted at closer ties between his company, China Mobile and Verizon Wireless, two operators in which the UK-based group has minority stakes.

Cellular News reports that China Unicom has launched a mobile phone-based payment service - 'Cqpass' -  in the city of Chongqing which enables users to use their phone to pay for transport tickets and at various retailers.

Pakistani mobile operator Warid Telecom has been given a cash injection of some US$250 million by its two main shareholders Abu Dhabi Group and Singapore's SingTel.