With ongoing delays over the issuing of third generation mobile network licenses, China’s telecoms sector is a hotbed of restructuring rumors and uncertainty. The Market Journal casts an eye over some of the rumors, and rules out two of the three major myths

Market sources report that, in March of this year, China plans to initiate preliminary construction of a TD-SCDMA infrastructure in major mainland cities, including the six cities hosting the Olympic Games--Beijing, Shanghai, Tianjin, Qingdao, Shenyang, and Qinghuangdao--as well as key coastal cities including Shenzhen, Guangzhou, Xiamen, and Baoding.  With the upcoming 3G license and the Olympics stimulating demand for expanded communications capabilities, China's telecommunications sector is in need of industrial restructuring, and optimization of resources.

China’s rapidly changing telecommunication sector is not only a playground for the four operators. AsiaInfo Holdings Inc., a Beijing-based provider of telecom software and information technology security products and services in China, also has its share in shaping this landscape. Its CEO Steve Zhang talks to Amy Cheung of The China Perspective on what is the company’s role in transforming China’s telecommunications industry.

To ensure 3G services would be provided during the 2008 Beijing Olympics, China has to make decisions on 3G license in the first quarter of 2007 by the latest. The distribution of TD-SCDMA license is among the most debatable issue particularly which firm would be responsible for constructing the 3G network and infrastructure that us based on TD-SCDMA standards.

Boosted by both preparations for 3G and the expansion to rural communications market, China’s telecom sector fixed asset investment has seen rare growth in the first three quarters of 2006, ushering in the age of 3G in which telecom expansion is expected in both urban and untapped markets in rural areas.

Although foreign operators have been actively providing value added services and other joint ventures in China’s telecommunications sector, they remain cautious in stepping in infrastructure development. How do the foreign telecom giants plan out their China strategies?

Total revenue from China's communications sector, including postal and telecommunications services, reached 405.29 billion yuan (50.66 billion US dollars) in the first seven months, up 11.4 percent year-on-year, Forbes reported.

Revenue in China's telecoms sector rose 10.7 percent in the first half of 2006 compared to the same period last year, driven by rapid growth in mobile phone subscribers, Reuters reported, quoted Xinhua.

Consumer confidence index remains on a high level of 94% year-on-year in the second season of 2006, the National Bureau of Statistics announced Monday.