China Telecom Corp, the mainland's largest fixed-line operator, said yesterday it would launch its 3G mobile service in 100 cities within three months in a bid to catch up with rival China Mobile's aggressive plan.
China Mobile has said it is investing 58.8 billion yuan (HK$66.69 billion) to boost its 3G network infrastructure in more than 238 cities this year.
Meanwhile, China Unicom, which holds a 3G licence based on the most mature WCDMA mobile technology, lags behind. The company could roll out 3G services in only seven cities by May, with an additional 100 cities in the second half, according to industry sources.
China Telecom holds one of the three 3G mobile licences granted by the mainland government last week. The company will provide 3G mobile services based on the US-developed CDMA2000 EVDO technology.
China Telecom vice-president Zhang Jiping told mainland media last week that the company needed three months to upgrade the existing CDMA 2G mobile network to the 3G standard in all major cities.
CDMA technology enables China Telecom to implement software upgrades on existing 2G networks for the 3G standard. The company does not need to build a new 3G network on a separate spectrum, as China Mobile and China Unicom must do.