China Unicom (CHU.NYSE, 600050.SH, 0762.HKG) announced it generated net income of RMB1 billion (US$159 million) in the first quarter, missing analyst estimates due to lower-than-expected demand for its high-speed 3G services, Bloomberg reported. The company added 8.84 million new users to its 3G network in the quarter, well below what some analysts had projected. Part of the reason may have been competition from China Telecom (CHA.NYSE, 728.HKG), which recently began offering services for the 3G-enabled Apple (AAPL.NASDAQ) iPhone. “At this stage it is unclear whether this 3G net adds number was impacted by China Telecom’s iPhone launch,” Lisa Soh, an analyst at Macquarie Group. “Unicom will need to incur higher costs/lower average revenue per user to accelerate its 3G run rate throughout the remainder of the year.”
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