Telecom Lead Asia: China Telecom said non-voice revenue
to contribute 50 percent of its 2012 mobile business revenue following the
launch of Apple iPhone 4S in March.
Recently, China Telecom said its revenue rose 11.7
percent to $39.5 billion. China Telecom’s revenues for its mobile service increased
43 percent last year and became the biggest single component of its business.
Revenue for fixed-line voice service fell 20.4 percent compared with 2010.
China Telecom aims to leverage on the iPhone 4S to race
ahead of rivals China Mobile and China Unicom in attracting users of
third-generation mobile services, which offer faster data speeds and more
revenue per user than those using the more common second-generation technology.
3G service is entering a phase of accelerated growth and
will grow explosively.
In February, China Telecom signed a deal with Apple sell
iPhones in China, the world’s biggest mobile phone market with almost 1 billion
subscribers. Apple previously had an exclusive distribution deal with China
Unicom.
The company is the first mobile operator in China to
offer Apple’s latest handset.
China Telecom is also planning to buy the CDMA mobile
network from its parent company this year, to bring down high leasing costs for
using the network.
China Telecom is the nation’s largest fixed-line operator
by subscribers.
The telco didn’t specify how much it will pay for the
network.
China Telecom to up capital expenditure by 9% to $8.54 billion
in 2012
Recently, China Telecom said it will increase its capital
expenditure by 9 percent to $8.54 billion in 2012. China Telecom reported $2.6
billion profit in 2011.
The company’s mobile subscribers rose 39.7 percent from a
year earlier to 126 million. The portion of those subscribers using fast
third-generation services more than doubled to 36.3 million.
China Telecom subsidiary to increase presence in American
mobile market
Recently, CT Americas, an international subsidiary of
China Telecom, decided to explore the US retail market in 2012. In January, CT
Americas launched its branded mobile service in Chicago. The cell phones with
this branded mobile service will carry one SIM card with two numbers: one
Chinese and one US cell number.
