China Unicom Plans US$529.4 Mln Investment in Hainan Province IT Infrastructure
June 20, 2009
Chinese telecom operator China Unicom and the
Hainan provincial government signed a cooperative framework agreement on June
16, 2009, whereby China Unicom will invest approximately 3.6 billion RMB (US$529.4
million; US$1=6.8 RMB) over the next five years to upgrade the IT infrastructure
on the island province, according to a China Knowledge report on June 18.
Pursuant to the agreement, China Unicom will leverage the investment to achieve
full coverage of 3G mobile and broadband networks throughout the province.
Also, the Hainan provincial government will encourage local enterprises to seek
active partnerships with China Unicom. Thus far, the local China Unicom branch
has begun 3G trial service. The company is expected to focus its resources on
pushing the mobile broadband business in Hainan in the next phase.