Mobile phone subscribers have continued to increase by 50,000 each month in 1999. The total number of mobile phone subscribers has exceeded 1.5 million, according to a press conference held in Beijing.

Dong Huiyi, general manager with the Beijing Mobile Communications Corporation, said that the mobile phone users in Beijing has increased by half million this year.

Dong said that his company started digital mobile phones in 1995 with users increasing by 100 percent annually.

Earlier this year, China increased its cellular phone number digits to 11 from the previous 10.

Sources from the Ministry of Information Industry (MII) said that upgrading China's country's mobile phone network is now able to serve 250 million to 280 million users. (Xinhua)