Telecom industry sees speedy, across-the-board growth in '00
(7 February 2001) According to the latest statistics provided by China’s Ministry of Information Industry, by the end of last year, the total revenue from China’s communications industries reached 349.8 billion renminbi (US$42.25 billion), up 24.8 percent from 1999.
The total telecom revenue was Rmb 307.4 billion (US$37.13 billion), up 26.4 percent. Among China’s largest telecom companies, China Telecom generated Rmb 170.9 billion (US$20.64 billion) in revenue; China Mobile, Rmb 111.6 billion (US$13.48 billion); and China Unicom, Rmb 24.5 billion (US$2.96 billion), according to an article in the Feb. 6 Jisuanji Shijie Ribao (China Computer World).
The amount of fixed-asset investment in the telecom sector also increased. In 2000, China’s telephone network capacity leapt to the second largest in the world. By the end of the year, a total of Rmb 214.4 billion (US$25.89 billion) in fixed-asset investment was completed in the communications industries, up 25.5 percent from the previous year. Rmb 205.4 billion (US$24.81 billion) of this amount was earmarked for telecommunications, up 28 percent.
More phone lines
Also in 2000, 22.6 million telephone lines were added, increasing the total capacity to 179 million lines. An additional 460,000 terminals of toll exchanges were added, increasing the total capacity to 5.5 million terminals.
Meanwhile, the capacity of mobile communications climbed by a total of 49.2 million to reach 130 million. There were 1.4 million new long-distance circuits, increasing the total number of circuits to 3.67 million. An additional 46,000 kilometers (28,584.4 miles) of long-distance fiber-optic lines were added, increasing the total length to 286,000 kilometers (177,720.4 miles). The total length of China’s fiber-optic lines reached 1.25 million kilometers (807,820 miles).
Last year, 170,000 new telephone subscribers were added daily, boosting the total to 215 million. Among these new users, 35.6 million signed up for fixed-line service, up 32 percent from 1999 and increasing the total number to 144 million.
There were about 41.97 million new cellphone users, up 97 percent over the previous year and increasing the total number to 85.26 million. There were an additional 6.1 million new customers who were connected to the Internet using dial-up method, up 205.4 percent and increasing the total number to 9.13 million.
Wireless ascending
Wireless paging services signed up 1.9 million new customers, up 4.1 percent and increasing the total to 48.64 million. There were 565,000 new public telephones, up 18.8 percent and increasing the total to 3.57 million.
By the end of 2000, China’s fixed-line telephones penetrated 20.1 percent of homes. In urban areas, that figure hit 39 percent. Meanwhile, the nationwide proportion of mobile phone users reached 6.7 percent, the story said.
chinaonline.com |
