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China Mobile Offers Dial-up Internet Access Service
China Mobile Communications Corp, with the most mobile phone users in the country, this week began offering new wireless Internet services.
The company is ready to provide dial-up Internet access, IP-enabled mobile phone communications and applications services for ISPs (Internet service providers).
China Mobile has been licensed by the State Council as the sixth operator of Internet access services in the country.
"The wireless Internet portal, a key part of our Internet business, has begun to provide service and will soon be enriched in co-operation with domestic Internet partners," Lu Xiangdong, vice-president of China Mobile Communication Corp, told Business Weekly last week.
China Mobile offered mobile Internet trial services via WAP (wireless application protocol) handsets in March. The new service will be commercialized during the second half of this year.
Lu declined to discuss standard charges for WAP service, but said prices will be set to cultivate the market.
Taking advantage of its mobile phone user resources, the company's mobile Internet portal will undoubtedly become a hot item for both venutre capital investors and phone subscribers.
Although some leading domestic Internet portal operators hope to transplant their portals to mobile phone systems operated by China Mobile, Lu said the company's attitude now is to go it alone.
"Those who want to co-operate with China Mobile should serve as members of our portal. That would be a win-win strategy," said Lu.
Lu said the popularity of WAP-enabled mobile Internet services needs time to mature. There are still problems with available bandwidths and content.
The company is currently conducting tests of a GPRS system in several provinces. The GPRS system is a stepping stone for the transition of the current GSM network to the third-generation telecom network, which will enable people to surf audio and video programmes on the Internet via mobile phones.
Lu said a trial run of the GPRS system will end early next year when normal services begin in Guangdong, Zhejiang, Shandong and Fujian provinces and the Shanghai and Beijing municipalities.
China Mobile, the strongest arm of the former China Telecom, will be officially inaugurated on Tuesday.
Industrial analysts predict the Hong Kong-listing branch of the former China Telecom will be completely transferred to China Mobile soon since it was solely concerned with the mobile business.
Lu said that along with the new Internet business, the company will pour more investment into the construction and expansion of its mobile telecom network this year.
"We must make up for the delays in our investment projects that resulted from our restructuring last year," said Lu.
Although the restructuring of China Telecom was expected to break up a telecom monopoly, the one-year-long reorganization severely affected normal investment schedules in the telecom sector last year.
Lu said investment will grow by about 70 per cent this year, when compared to the stagnant situation in 1999. Ninety per cent of the investment will go to the mobile network.
Fixed-asset investments are expected to total 61.6 billion yuan (US$7.4 billion), including 7.6 billion yuan (US$915 million) in infrastructural construction and 54 billion yuan (US$6.5 billion) for technological renovations.
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