Unicom

Chinese news agency Xinhua states that the country’s fixed-line operators will soon be granted licenses for mobile services, citing comments from Ministry of Information Industry (MII) Vice Minister Xi Guohua at a telecom forum.

The acceptance that it’s the consumer that decides on the success of a mobile service hit home with the industry’s value chain at Wednesday morning’s keynote session focused on mobile entertainment.

Shares in China Unicom have risen to their highest in more than two months after a report said that China has put the finishing touches on a plan to revamp the country’s telecommunications sector.

The long-running topic of China’s potential telecom industry restructuring emerged again yesterday as Credit Suisse, citing a senior industry official and sector experts, wrote on Monday that the State Council, China’s cabinet, was reviewing a restructuring plan submitted jointly by industry and government regulators and would soon unveil a decision.

China Unicom is to invest approximately US$2.8 billion in upgrading its GSM network, according to a report carried by Beijing Times. The report cites Chairman Chang Xiaobing as committing to the investment this year.

Next Tuesday will see China’s largest cell phone operator, China Mobile, launch a large-scale trial of a 3G service based upon TD-SCDMA technology.

Less than a week after predicting a brighter outlook for the mobile equipment market, market-leader Ericsson has announced new deals worth US$1.44 billion to expand the GSM networks of China's two largest mobile operators, China Mobile and China Unicom.