People can view live broadcasts and launch their own over the Internet, a trend that has become increasingly popular in China. (Photo : Reuters)
China’s Ministry of Industry and Information Technology (MIIT) is urging Internet service providers to improve network speeds and reduce mobile Internet charges, in response to Premier Li Keqiang’s call to improve mobile Internet services in the country earlier this week.
The construction of 4G network and speed enhancement will be this year's key focus, the ministry said in a statement on its website on Wednesday evening.
The announcement comes a day after Premier Li's speech at an economic symposium in Beijing on Tuesday, wherein he urged for the reduction of mobile data plans and the construction of additional telecommunications infrastructure in the country.
China's network bandwidth falls far behind 80 countries in the world, Li said, adding that people often look for free WiFi in public areas because mobile data is too expensive.
Currently, the cost of 1 gigabyte of mobile data in China ranges from 50 to 100 yuan ($8-$16) a month. In an online survey conducted by the Sina news portal, 85 percent of more than 124,000 respondents blamed the monopoly of Chinese telecom providers for slow speed and high rates.
According to the survey, 50 yuan is the rate 75 percent of the respondents support, while 66.5 percent believe that Internet speed is slow.
China's telecom sector is dominated by three companies, namely China Mobile, China Unicom and China Telecom.
"Only China Telecom and China Unicom have been officially licensed to provide an Internet backbone while all three offer wireless Internet service," Kan Kaili, a professor at the Beijing University of Posts and Telecommunications, said in an interview. "More competitors should be allowed into the market."
Xiang Ligang, CEO of industry information portal Cctime.com, said that China Mobile, which earns a 25-percent profit, is capable of charging lower fees. In comparison, the two other operators had profits below 10 percent, which is a rate similar to those of overseas telecom providers.
China Mobile racked 109.3 billion yuan in revenues in 2014, while China Telecom and China Unicom earned 17.9 billion yuan and 12.1 billion yuan, respectively, the Beijing Morning Post reported in late March this year.
"Both central and local authorities should share the responsibility with operators to invest in telecommunication infrastructure and technology, which currently suffer from inadequate support," Xiang said.
