China Telecom launched its 3G (third generation mobile communications) trial commercial service in Shanghai for the first time on March 15. China Telecom's 3G services are expected to be put into official commercial use nationwide this April.

Zhang Weihua, general manager of the Shanghai Branch of China Telecom, otherwise known as Shanghai Telecom, said that in 2009, Shanghai Telecom will invest over 6 billion yuan in areas including telecommunication projects at the Shanghai Expo site, construction of the 3G network, the creation of an Asia Pacific Information Hub and the informatization of small and medium enterprises. Of this investment, over one-third will be used to increase signal coverage of the 3G network and to develop high-speed mobile Internet connections.

Reporters learned that at present, Shanghai Telecom's 3G network signal covers urban areas within the Outer Ring Road, as well as towns in the suburban areas. By March 15, the company had finished upgrading 1,600 mobile telecommunication base stations for its 3G network. It is expected that by the end of this year, the total number of Shanghai Telecom 3G base stations will reach 2,000. In addition, Shanghai Telecom has also created WiFi hotspots in over 4,000 public places. WiFi hotspots are expected to cover over 5,000 public places by the end of this year, forming a high-speed seamless broadband network that will cover the whole city.

According to relevant staff at the company, CDMA-based 3G network technology has made remarkable improvements to wireless broadband speed, raising downlink bandwidth to 3.1 Mbps on the base of maintaining stable operation of the network. It is 20 times faster than 2G CDMA 1X network technology. Additionally, the WiFi network under construction by Shanghai Telecom is able to provide a speed between 11 and 54 Mbps. In the future, Shanghai Telecom's wireless broadband users can freely switch between 3G and WiFi networks, achieving genuine "seamless wireless broadband."

From March 16 to the end of the month, users who have signed package service agreements with Shanghai Telecom that promise to use at least 250 yuan in monthly service fees will have the opportunity to get trial 3G Internet access cards and will be able to access wireless high-speed internet for 100 hours each month.

By People's Daily Online