China eyes 100M new 3G subscribers in 2013

China intends to add more 3G and broadband Internet users to the existing user base in the new year, hoping it would boost the revenues of the domestic telecommunications and software industries.

In a report by Xinhua Thursday, the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology (MIIT) stated the country will add an estimated 100 million new 3G subscribers in 2013. Similarly, the number of broadband Internet users is expected to increase by 25 million, according to Minister of Industry and Information Technology Miao Wei.

With the number of new customers coming onboard, the ministry said it expects an 8-percent increase in main business revenue for the telecommunications industry. Software and IT service industry's revenue will likely grow by some 25 percent too, it noted.

Miao added the growth of these industries in 2012 was helped by allowing more private capital to enter the market, lowering service fees and improving service quality.

As a result, by end-November 2012, the number of mobile phone users exceeded 1.1 billion and 3G users had reached 220 million. Broadband Internet users came up to 174 million, the report noted.