China Telecom to deploy wireless network in 21 provinces

China Telecom<728>, the largest fixed telecom service operator in the country, is accelerating Wi-Fi deployment and plan to launch a large-scale wireless network rollout in Southern China's 21 provinces, said a senior executive at Guangzhou Telecom.

The executive disclosed that China Telecom will focus on the development of the wireless network sector in 2008 to secure its earnings amid the sharp decline of the fixed-line subscribers in recent months.

The deployment of wireless network will enhance the customer loyalty for China Telecom, which will boost the competitiveness of its mobile service, the man added.

Earlier reports said China Telecom will take over the CDMA network of China Unicom in China's telecom industry reshuffle. It is likely to transfer its PHS users into CDMA users smoothly after the restructuring, an industry insider predicted.

The number of the fixed-line subscribers continued to decline for the second half of 2007, and as of end of January this year, the figure was 364 million, according to statistics released from the Ministry of Information.