UTStarcom Inc, a global leader in telecommunications, signed a near US$100m infrastructure contract with China Telecom Corp to expand its IP-based PAS (Personal Access System) networks in Jiangsu, Zhejiang, Hubei, Guangdong, Fujian and Yunnan provinces, Shanghai municipality and the Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region. Last Thursday, UTStarcom also signed a US$67m contract with China Netcom Group to expand its PAS networks in Heilongjiang, Liaoning, Shandong, Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region and Beijing. PAS subscribers grew 12.5% in the first 5 months of this year, surpassing 77m users, still a fraction of China's 1.3bn population.