China Telecom's trial 3G services, said to be the fastest available, was launched on Sunday in Shanghai.

The download speed of China Telecom's 3G network, based on the CDMA 2000 (code division multiple access) technology, is 3.1 Mbps (megabit per second), 50 percent faster than China Mobile's 3G network based on TD-SCDMA (time division-synchronous CDMA). China Unicom will launch its 3G services based on WCDMA (wideband CDMA) technology which is slightly slower compared with CDMA 2000. Most home-based broadband speed is about 1 Mbps or 2 Mbps in Shanghai.

In 2009, Shanghai Telecom, a unit of China Telecom, will invest a total of 6 billion yuan (US$882 million) on projects related to the 2010 World Expo, 3G and enterprise services. One-third of the capital will be poured into third-generation mobile communications, said Zhang Weihua, general manager of Shanghai Telecom.

For now users need to plug in 3G data cards, available from China Telecom, into their laptops. The telco plans to officially launch 3G services, including for mobile phones, around the beginning of April.

Shanghai Telecom started taking applications from subscribers of family broadband packages for 3G services yesterday. Its 3G signal covers the area within the Outer Ring Road of the city and will be extended citywide by the end of the year.

Shanghai Vice Mayor Ai Baojun, Director of Shanghai Economic and Information Technology Development Commission Wang Jian and Yuan Xin, chairman of Alcatel-Lucent Shanghai Bell, were present at the launch ceremony.

The Ministry of Industry and Information Technology estimates that about 280 billion yuan will be invested in 3G until 2010.

(Shanghai Daily March 16, 2009)