China Telecom places biggest-ever 3G handset order

Aug. 26, 2009 (China Knowledge) - China Telecom Corp Ltd<0728>, the nation's largest fixed-line operator, recently ordered 4 million 3G handsets from 31 handset manufacturers, as the telecom carrier aims to boost its 3G user base, the China Daily reported yesterday.

The telecom carrier has purchased 63 3G handset models from 31 firms, including ZTE Corp<000063><0763>, Samsung Electronics Co Ltd and CoolPad, according to the report.

The carrier's order for 4 million customized handsets, China's biggest handset order ever, is bigger than the company's planned order of 3.6 million units. The handsets will be priced between RMB 700 and RMB 1,500, as compared to those currently available, most of which cost RMB 1,000 to RMB 3,000 each, said the carrier.

In January, China issued 3G licenses to its top three telecom carriers, China Mobile Ltd<0941>, China Unicom (Hong Kong) Ltd<600050><0762> and China Telecom Corp Ltd<0728>.

China Telecom, which offers 3G services based on the CDMA standard, added 2.45 million mobile subscribers in July, the biggest increase so far this year. Its CDMA handset sales jumped 345% year on year to 13 million units in the first half of the year.