Broadband Launches into 'Acceleration' Mode, Enterprises Need to Play a Key Role

The cost-effectiveness of broadband in China is effectively improving. At the mobilization and deployment conference for the Broadband Popularization and Speed-up Project held on March 30, Minister of Industry and Information Technology Miao Wei stated that this year's project aims to add fiber-to-the-home coverage for over 35 million households, have more than 50% of users on broadband access products of 4 Mbps or above, and promote a reduction in unit bandwidth prices.

At the end of last year, the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology announced the implementation of the "Broadband China" strategy, proposing that by the end of 2015, urban household bandwidth should reach 20 Mbps or above, rural household bandwidth should reach 4 Mbps or above, and provincial capital city households in developed eastern regions should reach 100 Mbps. "Our overall goal is to build optical networks, increase speed, promotepopularization, expand applications, reduce tariffs, and benefit people's livelihoods," said Miao Wei.

Enterprises Need to Play a Key Role

Broadband popularization requires joint efforts, adhering to the approach of government guidance, enterprise leadership, industrial cooperation, and social support

"Broadband popularization requires joint efforts, adhering to the approach of government guidance, enterprise leadership, industrial cooperation, and social support," said Zhang Feng. Telecom operators are undoubtedly the main force in implementing the Broadband Popularization and Speed-up Project. They must fully leverage their key role in network construction and expansion, actively assume social responsibility, actively build optical fiber networks, improve access, metropolitan, and backbone network bandwidth, effectively increase user access speeds, and reduce unit bandwidth prices.

Since the end of last year, telecom operators have begun speed-up actions.

China Telecom has started free speed upgrades in cities such as Shanghai and Wuhan. China Telecom Chairman Wang Xiaochu stated that this year, the company will add fiber-to-the-home coverage for 25 million households, add 16 million new fixed broadband users, bring broadband to over 10,000 new administrative villages, increase the proportion of users on 4 Mbps or above broadband products to over 50% (striving for 60%), and add 300,000 new Wi-Fi hotspots.

China Unicom is accelerating the completion of the "fiber-to-the-home, copper-out" transformation, popularizing 10 Mbps to 20 Mbps broadband access capabilities, and significantly improving rural broadband access capabilities. China Unicom Chairman Chang Xiaobing stated that this year, the company will add fiber-to-the-home for over 10 million households, add over 9 million new household broadband users, increase the proportion of users with access speeds of 4 Mbps or above to over 50% (striving for 60%), and add 300,000 new AP hotspot coverage.