- China Telecom recently announced that the company has entered into an agreement with Guangzhou municipal government through Guangdong Telecom, the subsidiary of China Telecom in Guangzhou, the Sohu News reported on July 30. Pursuant to the agreement, the company will invest around 13 billion RMB (US$1.9 billion; US$1 = 6.8 RMB) into Guangzhou for the upcoming next five years, with an aim to achieve the average broadband speed of around 4Mbps in the said city. In 2009, Guangdong Telecom will allocate 2.5 billion RMB (US$382.4 million) for achieving full CDMA (Code Division Multiple Access) network coverage in Guangzhou city, according to the same source.

- China Unicom recently announced that the company plans to expand its WCDMA (Wideband CDMA) trial network coverage to another 168 cities in August 2009, as part of its efforts to deliver WCDMA service in 284 cities in China by year-end 2009, the Xinhua News reported on July 31. The total number of cities having WCDMA commercial trials is expected to reach 268 cities as of August 1, 2009. On May 17, China Unicom kicked off its WCDMA commercial trials in 56 cities, further expanding to another 44 cities on June 28.

- Sony Ericsson announced on July 27 that the company will launch mobile phones supporting TD-SCDMA (Time Division-Synchronous Code Division Multiple Access) and WAPI (WLAN Authentication and Privacy Infrastructure) technologies for the Chinese market. Further details regarding the phone, however, were not yet disclosed.

Meanwhile, China Mobile recently has launched a subsidy program for TD-SCDMA phone purchases. Under the program, users can buy a customized TD-SCDMA phone for free in bundle with a pre-paid service plan, the Sohu News reported on July 28. Recently, China Mobile launched TD-SCDMA phone/mobile service bundles, allowing users to prepay 2,580 RMB (US$379.4) for mobile services and get a TD-SCDMA phone with equivalent value for free.