Fixed-line carriers have been ordered by the Ministry of Information Industry to dismantle some of their wireless local-loop operations, reported South China Morning Post. The ministry criticised subsidiaries of China Telecom and China Netcom for using 450- megahertz code-division multiple access technology to operate Xiaolingtong citywide wireless services without permission. The action will mean that China Unicom remains the only CDMA network operator in the country.
Although the CDMA 450 service has been rolled out in only a few cities, some commentators believe the move could be the start of a tightening of regulations on Xiaolingtong, which has been eroding the earning capacity of authorised mobile carriers.