Low-cost service ideal system for rural migrants who cannot afford 3G link-up
UTStarcom, a key supplier of xiaolingtong equipment on the mainland, hopes a central government plan to move 400 million people from rural areas to urban centres will continue to drive demand for the low-cost mobile-phone services.
UTStarcom chief executive Wu Ying said the migration plan to take place over the next 20 years would create demand among a population which did not have access to telecommunications services.
'Four hundred million is a huge number. Ninety per cent of these 400 million people today do not have any phone services, including fixed-line,' he said.
'Once they have a better choice in the next two to three years, it's going to be [xiaolingtong]. They cannot afford 3G services, not even 2G.'
The first xiaolingtong system appeared in 1999, under a trial operation which began in Xian, Shaanxi province. Services have exploded since as fixed-line carriers China Telecom and China Netcom aggressively build networks to capture growth at the low end of the market from mobile carriers China Mobile and China Unicom.
