Long-term growth of telecommunications equipment and services, such as third-generation (3G) cellular telephones, in China is keyed to the country's National Development & Reform Commission (NDRC), according to a report from research firm iSuppli Corp. Because of the push for modernization, the Chinese government is offering 3G licenses to four state owned telecommunications operators: China Mobile, China Unicom, China Telecom, and China Netcom if they are willing to accept reforms in line with the modernization efforts. China Mobile, for example, has a near monopoly in the country's mobile communications market with $37.8 billion in revenue and a net profit of $8.5 billion last year. These changes would result in a more distributed business structure, in the hopes of improved services.
iSuppli Corp. (www.isuppli.com)