Media Fibre Optic Projects HaltedThe fate of overseas investment in construction of broadcasting cable networks in Chinese mainland has become uncertain after the release of a government document that ordered the suspension of unauthorized long-distance fibre optic network projects, as China Daily reports.According to the document, jointly issued by the State Development Planning Commission and the Ministry of Information Industry (MII), all such projects should be authorized units. Or else they should be suspended at once. The document was issued last week but not made public until Thursday. Immediate victims of the document included projects undertaken by the State Administration of Radio, Film and Television (SARFT) and its subsidiaries. The 21st Century Economic Report newspaper estimated overseas capital in broadcasting networks construction under the SARFT at 2.3 billion yuan (US$278 million). Fibre optic network owners that do not have a telecommunication operation licence must report the situation of their networks to the two ministries, said the document. Cable broadcasting networks that usually use optic fibre can function for telecommunication purposes. Officials from SARFT reportedly argued that their projects had been approved by the State Council in line with Telecommunication Management Regulations. Whether optic networks that belong to the broadcasting sector should be reported to the MII is still unclear. SARFT projects have apparently hit a dilemma caused by the unclearness of the policies. Officials from both SARFT and MII said they are not clear on this issue. Caused by the unclear policies, officials from SARFT said they did not know whether they should stop network construction£¬especially projects involving foreign shares. The document reiterated that overseas capital, including that from Hong Kong, Macao and Taiwan, is strictly banned from entering telecom network construction and will be cleared out. The confusing situation between the MII and the SARFT has existed for a long time although they have an agreement not to enter each other's business. A nationwide communications conglomerate to unify China's wireless£¬ cable and satellite broadcasting services was set to be launched this year, said Zhang Haitao, deputy-director of SARFT |
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