[photopress:mobilephone_1_2.jpg,full,alignright]77% of Chinese mobile phone users in China said that they will purchase 3G handsets in the future, according to a survey conducted recently by CCID Data. This means an immense market for this phone system which allows images as well as sound.
According to Minister of the Information Industry, Wang Xudong, there will be 900 million mobile phones in use in China at the end of this year. 77% of that is about 700 million odd 3G empowered mobiles. Divide that by any figure you like and it is still and immense potential market. Arguably, the biggest in the world.
The phone-user base, including fixed-line and mobile, will increase by 70 million this year. Wang Xudong said the mobile phone penetration rate by the end of this year should 39.4%, compared with 35.2% now. He said in a statement posted on the MII’s Website that in 2007, the IT industry output is scheduled to reach RMB1.86 trillion ($233 billion) and telecommunications output will be RMB530 billion.
Wang Xudong said the non-voice-service income will account for 30% of the total telecom industry income in 2007, compared with the current 26%.
Li Yanfeng, an analyst at Beijing-based CCID Consulting, a research firm under the ministry, said, ‘Strategic transformation is the key word for Chinese carriers now and they are not satisfied with providing telecommunications services only.’
In keeping with new services, carriers, such as China Mobile and China Unicom, have changed logos or added new data into advertisements. For example, China Netcom labels itself as ‘a broadband, communication and multimedia service provider’ and China Mobile becomes ‘a mobile service expert.’
Source: Shanghai Daily
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