Centre Fuels Net-economyShanghai Jiaotong University on Thursday launched a new centre to help promote development of advanced Internet use in the city.Fan Xiping, director of the Informatization Office of Shanghai government, explained the motivation behind the university's new Shanghai Internet Economy Consulting Centre at its inauguration ceremony. "We hope the centre will help more people in Shanghai become users of broadband service," Fan said. The centre is the first of its kind to be set up under the supervision of a Chinese university, according to top officials from the Informatization Office. The centre's main task, according to Jiaotong University President Xie Shengwu, is to conduct research on development of the Internet in Shanghai and try to predict the impact such development will have on the city's economy. Xie is confident the centre will succeed because it can draw on the university's resources. "Jiaotong University's top-level professors and graduates, and the prestigious visiting scholars it attracts from home and abroad, will provide support for the studies carried out by the centre," he said. The centre will be responsible for testing new information technologies, setting up logistic platforms, and serving as consultant and e-solutions provider to institutes and enterprises. The centre's research will be used to help Shanghai come up with development strategies for its information network. "Our centre's first project will be to study the current situation and future of broadband service in the city. Our first report will provide background information to the municipality, which is right now framing managing regulations for broadband services," explained Sheng Huanye, director of Shanghai Internet Economy Consulting Centre and vice-president of Jiaotong University. According to Sheng, the centre's first project will examine the financial performance and service quality of major broadband service providers in Shanghai, strategies for dominating the city's broadband market, problems concerning intellectual property rights in broadband service and consumer behaviour during service provider price wars. Fu Zhiren, assistant chief engineer of Shanghai Telecom Corporation, claimed the city needs a united administration of all broadband service providers to maintain healthy market growth. The Shanghai Internet Economy Consulting Centre looks poised to play a large role in that growth. |
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