Greater China

China Unicom is to expand its trial WCDMA-based 3G network to a further 168 Chinese cities from tomorrow in a bid to catch up with rivals, China Mobile and China Telecom.

China Telecom and India's Reliance Communications have launched their first terrestrial broadband cable transmission system between China and India, reports Telecompaper.

China Telecom - the country's third-largest mobile operator - has reported a 29 percent decline in net profit for the first half of the year due to higher costs at its mobile division, reports Dow Jones Newswires.

Taiwan Mobile, Taiwan's second-largest mobile operator, is in negotiations regarding a tie-up with one of China's mobile operators in the latest instalment of increasing cooperation between the two countries' mobile sectors.

Cellular News reports that Chinese Internet search engine Baidu has entered into a partnership with China Unicom to provide wireless search for the mobile network operator's 3G subscribers.

Chinese search engine Baidu has launched a beta version of its mobile search service in Japan, reports Telecompaper.