Unicom to buy up parents' fixed-line assets

Telecom network operator China Unicom announced that it would acquire fixed-line assets for 21 provinces in southern China and Tianjin from its parent companies to boost its network coverage in the area, the South China Morning Post reported. Unicom will use internal funds to make the US$939 million purchase from Unicom Group and China Netcom Group Corp, which merged earlier this year under the state-directed reorganization of the telecommunications sector. China Telecom, the dominant fixed-line provider in the south, announced that it has awarded Motorola a contract to upgrade part of its mobile network to provide CDMA-based 3G services.