Netcom targets business users with Xiaolingtong

China Netcom Group Corp, the smaller of the country's fixed-line telecommunications operators, would target business users with its Xiaolingtong, or fixed wireless service, after the company secured a mobile service licence, chief executive Zuo Xunsheng said yesterday.

'We will keep our Xiaolingtong service and will boost the utilisation of the network for better efficiency,' Mr Zuo said at the Broadband Forum Asia conference in Beijing.

Xiaolingtong, or personal handyphone service, offers limited mobility compared with mobile phones and does not support cross-province roaming.

Mr Zuo said mobile services were no substitute for Xiaolingtong, which offered an alternative for wireless internet access with a maximum speed of up to 800 kilobits per second, or about twice that offered by 3G.

Netcom earlier this year completed a trial in Qingdao, Shandong province, using Xiaolingtong to offer wireless internet access at 128 kbps and the firm would invest to upgrade the network, although it would not be a significant sum, he said.

The company had developed a data card for laptop computer users to connect to the internet through the Xiaolingtong network, and this would help the company to expand its base even after 3G services were launched, he said.

The new service would still be limited by Xiaolingtong's basis as an extension of fixed-line services, said Mr Zuo, who did not give a timetable for its launch.

Mr Zuo, who last year predicted that Netcom would be granted a licence for mobile-phone operations early this year, reiterated that the company would gain a licence,

However, the Netcom chief declined on this occasion to give a time frame.

The company was eager to have a mobile service licence as soon as possible as the company's voice revenue was being eroded by rivals' mobile services, Mr Zuo said.

Covering all bases

China Netcom sees a place for Xiaolingtong and mobile services

Xiaolingtong offers an alternative for wireless internet access with a maximum speed of up to 800kbps