Telecommunications in the People's Republic of China
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
"Telecommunications in China"
redirects here. For the industry, see Telecommunications industry in China.
This article is about Communications in the People's Republic of China,
excluding Hong Kong and Macau (see Communications in Hong Kong and
Communications in Macau). For the Republic of China (Taiwan), see
Communications in the Republic of China.
The People's
Republic of China possesses a diversified communications system that links all
parts of the country by Internet, telephone, telegraph, radio, and television.
None of the telecommunications forms are as prevalent or as advanced as those
in modern Western countries, but the system includes some of the most
sophisticated technology in the world and constitutes a foundation for further
development of a modern network.
History
When the
People's Republic was founded in 1949, the telecommunications systems and
facilities in China first established by the Qing and Republican ITA and
Ministry of Posts and Communications had been seriously damaged from over
thirty years of on and off war between warlords, Japan, and the two sides of
the Chinese Civil War. What little remained was largely outdated and rudimentary
and limited to the eastern coastal cities, the Nanjing-Shanghai region, and a
few interior cities. In the 1950s existing facilities were repaired, and, with
Soviet assistance, considerable progress was made toward establishing a
long-distance telephone wire network connecting Beijing to provincial-level
capitals.
Communications
in China were established rapidly in the early 1950s. By 1952 the principal
telecommunications network centered on Beijing, and links to all large cities
had finally been established. Work quickly got under way to repair, renovate
and expand the system, and from 1956 telecommunications routes were extended
more rapidly. To increase the efficiency of the communications system, the same
lines were used for both telegraphic and telephone service, while Teletype and
television (broadcasting) services were also added.
In addition,
conference telephone service was initiated, radio communications were improved,
and the production of telecommunications equipment was accelerated. Growth in
telecommunications halted with the general economic collapse after the Great
Leap Forward (1958–60) but revived in the 1960s after the telephone network was
expanded and improved equipment was introduced, including imports of Western
plants and equipment.
By 1963
telephone wire had been laid from Beijing to the capitals of all provinces,
autonomous regions, and large cities, while in turn, provincial capitals and
autonomous regions were connected to the administrative seats of the counties,
smaller municipalities and larger market towns.
In the years
immediately following 1949, telecommunications — by telegraph or telephone —
mainly used wire; by the 1970s, however, radio telecommunications equipment
were increasingly used and began to replace wire lines. Microwave and satellite
transmissions were soon introduced and have now become common. (China launched
its first television-broadcast satellite in 1986.) In 1956 the first automatic
speed Teletype was installed on the Beijing-Lhasa line. By 1964 such machines
had been installed in most of China's major cities. Radio-television service
also was installed in major cities, and radio teleprinters became widely used.
An important
component of the Fourth Five-Year Plan (1971–75) was a major development
program for the telecommunications system. The program allotted top priority to
scarce electronics and construction resources and dramatically improved all
aspects of China's telecommunications capabilities.
Microwave radio
relay lines and buried cable lines were constructed to create a network of
wideband carrier trunk lines, which covered the entire country. China was
linked to the international telecommunications network by the installation of
communications satellite ground stations and the construction of coaxial cables
linking Guangdong Province with Hong Kong and Macau. Provincial-level units and
municipalities rapidly expanded local telephone and wire broadcasting networks.
Expansion and modernization of the telecommunications system continued
throughout the late-1970s and early 1980s, giving particular emphasis to the
production of radio and television sets and expanded broadcasting capabilities.
Marked
improvements occurred by the mid-1980s with an influx of foreign technology and
increased domestic production capabilities. International and long-distance
telephone links by cable and satellite of high quality multiplied. Telegraph,
facsimile, and telex were all in use. International satellite ground stations
in Beijing and Shanghai were built and a domestic satellite communication
network was operational in 1986. Over 160 radio stations existed by the
mid-1980s, and transistorized radio receivers were common. A vast wired
broadcasting system included over 2,600 stations carrying radio transmissions
into all rural units and many urban areas. The television system grew rapidly
in 1980s, with 90 television stations and 80 million sets by 1987.
By 1987 China
possessed a diversified telecommunications system that linked all parts of the
country by telephone, telegraph, radio, and television. None of the
telecommunications forms were as prevalent or as advanced as those in modern
Western countries, but the system included some of the most sophisticated technology
in the world and constituted a foundation for further development of a modern
network.
Overall, China's
telecommunications services improved enormously during the 1980s, and, the pace
of telecommunications growth and technology upgrading increased even more
rapidly after 1990, especially as fiber-optics systems and digital technology
were installed. After 1997, China's telecommunications services were enhanced
further with the acquisition of Hong Kong's highly advanced systems. In the
late 1990s and early 2000s, foreign investment in the country's
telecommunications sector further encouraged growth. Notable has been the
tremendous increase in Internet and cellular phone usage. China became the
world leader in the early 21st century, in terms of number of cell phone
subscribers. The nation ranks first in the world in numbers of both mobile and
fixed-line telephones, and first in the number of internet users.
Despite these
advances, China's telecommunications infrastructure has not been able to keep
up with demand and has not spread to the relatively poorer regions. A large
proportion of the country's population still has little or no access even to
basic telephone and Internet service. Although the number of cellular phones
has grown enormously, surpassing that for standard (i.e., landline) telephones
in 2003, the overall ratio of phones per capita has nonetheless remained much
smaller than it is for the developed countries.
China is the
largest user of largest Voice calling over the Internet or Voice over Internet
Protocol (VoIP) services with 51 million Tom-Skype users as of November 2007.
History of telecommunications services
In 1987 the
Ministry of Posts and Telecommunications (now the Ministry of Information
Industry) administered China's telecommunications systems and related research
and production facilities. Besides postal services, some of which were handled
by electronic means, the ministry was involved in a wide spectrum of telephone,
wire, telegraph, and international communications (see Postage stamps and
postal history of the People's Republic of China). The Ministry of Radio and
Television was established as a separate entity in 1982 to administer and
upgrade the status of television and radio broadcasting. Subordinate to this
ministry were the Central People's Broadcasting Station, Radio Beijing, and
China Central Television. Additionally, the various broadcasting training,
talent-search, research, publishing, and manufacturing organizations were
brought under the control of the Ministry of Radio and Television. In 1986
responsibility for the movie industry was transferred from the Ministry of
Culture to the new Ministry of Radio, Cinema, and Television.
As of 1987 the
quality of telecommunications services in China had improved markedly over
earlier years. A considerable influx of foreign technology and increased
domestic production capabilities had a major impact in the post-Mao period.
The primary form
of telecommunications in the 1980s was local and long-distance telephone
service administered by six regional bureaus: Beijing (north region), Shanghai
(east region), Xi'an (northwest region), Chengdu (southwest region), Wuhan
(centralsouth region), and Shenyang (northeast region). These regional
headquarters served as switching centers for provincial-level subsystems. By
1986 China had nearly 3 million telephone exchange lines, including 34,000
long-distance exchange lines with direct, automatic service to 24 cities. By
late 1986 fiber optic communications technology was being employed to relieve
the strain on existing telephone circuits. International service was routed
through overseas exchanges located in Beijing and Shanghai. Guangdong Province
had coaxial cable and microwave lines linking it to Hong Kong and Macau.
The large,
continuously upgraded satellite ground stations, originally installed in 1972
to provide live coverage of the visits to China by U.S. president Richard M.
Nixon and Japanese prime minister Kakuei Tanaka, still served as the base for
China's international satellite communications network in the mid-1980s. By
1977 China had joined Intelsat and, using ground stations in Beijing and
Shanghai, had linked up with satellites over the Indian and Pacific oceans.
In April 1984
China launched an experimental communications satellite for trial transmission
of broadcasts, telegrams, telephone calls, and facsimile, probably to remote
areas of the country. In February 1986 China launched its first fully
operational telecommunications and broadcast satellite. The quality and communications
capacity of the second satellite reportedly was much greater than the first. In
mid-1987 both satellites were still functioning. With these satellites in place
China's domestic satellite communication network went into operation,
facilitating television and radio transmissions and providing direct-dial
longdistance telephone, telegraph, and facsimile service. The network had
ground stations in Beijing, Urumqi, Hohhot, Lhasa, and Guangzhou, which also
were linked to an Intelsat satellite over the Indian Ocean.
Telegraph
development received lower priority than the telephone network largely because
of the difficulties involved in transmitting the written Chinese language.
Computer technology gradually alleviated these problems and facilitated further
growth in this area. By 1983 China had nearly 10,000 telegraph cables and telex
lines transmitting over 170 million messages annually. Most telegrams were
transmitted by cables or by shortwave radio. Cutmicrowave transmission also was
used. Teletype transmission was used for messages at the international level,
but some 40 percent of county and municipal telegrams were transmitted by Morse
code.
Apart from
traditional telegraph and telephone services, China also had facsimile,
low-speed data-transmission, and computer-controlled telecommunications
services. These included on-line information retrieval terminals in Beijing,
Changsha, and Baotou that enabled international telecommunications networks to
retrieve news and scientific, technical, economic, and cultural information
from international sources.
High-speed
newspaper-page-facsimile equipment and Chinese character - code translation
equipment were used on a large scale. Sixty-four-channel program-controlled
automatic message retransmission equipment and low- or medium-speed data
transmission and exchange equipment also received extensive use. International
telex service was available in coastal cities and special economic zones.
The Central
People's Broadcasting Station controlled China's national radio network.
Programming was administered by the provincial-level units. The station
produced general news and cultural and educational programs. It also provided
programs directed toward Taiwan and overseas Chinese listeners. Radio Beijing
broadcast to the world in thirty-eight foreign languages, putonghua, and
various dialects, including Amoy, Cantonese, and Hakka. It also provided
English-language news programs aimed at foreign residents in Beijing.
Medium-wave, shortwave, and FM stations reached 80 percent of the country —
over 160 radio stations and 500 relay and transmission stations — with some 240
radio programs.
The nationwide
network of wire lines and loudspeakers transmitted radio programs into
virtually all rural communities and many urban areas. By 1984 there were over
2,600 wired broadcasting stations, extending radio transmissions to rural areas
outside the range of regular broadcasting stations.
In 1987 China
Central Television (CCTV), the state network, managed China's television
programs. In 1985 consumers purchased 15 million new sets, including
approximately 4 million color sets. Production fell far short of demand.
Because Chinese viewers often gathered in large groups to watch publicly owned
sets, authorities estimated that two-thirds of the nation had access to
television. In 1987 there were about 70 million television sets, an average of
29 sets per 100 families. CCTV had four channels that supplied programs to the
over ninety television stations throughout the country. Construction began on a
major new CCTV studio in Beijing in 1985. CCTV produced its own programs, a
large portion of which were educational, and the Television University in
Beijing produced three educational programs weekly. The English-language lesson
was the most popular program and had an estimated 5 to 6 million viewers. Other
programs included daily news, entertainment, teleplays, and special programs.
Foreign programs included films and cartoons. Chinese viewers were particularly
interested in watching international news, sports, and drama (see Culture of
the People's Republic of China).
Recent development
The former
telecoms regulator - the Ministry of Information Industry (MII) - reported in
2004 that China had 295 million subscribers to main telephone lines and 305
million cellular telephone subscribers, the highest numbers in both categories.
Both categories showed substantial increases over the previous decade; in 1995
there were only 3.6 million cellular telephone subscribers and around 20
million main-line telephone subscribers. By 2003 there were 42 telephones per
100 population.
Internet use also has soared in
China from about 60,000 Internet users in 1995 to 22.5 million users in 2000;
by 2005 the number had reached 103 million. Although this figure is well below
the 159 million users in the United States and although fairly low per capita,
it was second in the world and on a par with Japan’s 57 million users.
By the June
2010, China had 420 million internet users. Incidentally, this is greater than
the population of the USA, however penetration rate is still relatively low at
just under 32%. See Internet in the People's Republic of China
China’s 2.7
million kilometers of optical fiber telecommunication cables by 2003 assisted
greatly in the modernization process. China produces an increasing volume of televisions
both for domestic use and export, which has helped to spread communications
development. In 2001 China produced more than 46 million televisions and
claimed 317 million sets in use. At the same time, there were 417 million
radios in use in China, a rate of 342 per 1,000 population. However, many more
are reached, especially in rural areas, via loudspeaker broadcasts of radio
programs that bring transmissions to large numbers of radioless households.
In March 2012,
the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology announced that China has
1.01 billion mobile phone subscribers; of these, 144 million are connected to
3G networks. At the same time, the number of landline phones dropped by 828,000
within the span of two months to a total of 284.3 million.
Regulation
The primary
regulator of communications, in particular telecommunications, in China is the
Ministry of Industry and Information Technology (MIIT). It closely regulates
all of the industries outlined below with the exception of the radio and
television sectors, which belong to the remit of the State Administration of
Radio, Film, and Television.
Sectors
Telephone
See:
Telecommunications industry in China
- · Telephones - main lines in use: 284.3 million (March 2012)
- · Telephones - mobile cellular subscribers: 1.01 billion (March 2012)
- · Telephone country code: 86 (see Telephone numbers in China)
China imported
its first mobile phone telecommunication facilities in 1987 and it took a
decade for the number of subscribers to reach 10 million. Four years later, in
2001, the country had the largest number of mobile phone subscribers in the
world.
Domestic and
international services are increasingly available for private use. But an
unevenly distributed domestic system serves principal cities, industrial
centers, and many towns. China continues to develop its telecommunications
infrastructure, and is partnering with foreign providers to expand its global
reach; 3 of China's 6 major telecommunications operators are part of an
international consortium which, in December 2006, signed an agreement with
Verizon Business to build the first next-generation optical cable system
directly linking the United States and China.
On December 2005, its combined main lines and mobile lines
exceeded 743 million.
By the end of
August 2006, statistics from the Ministry of Information Industry showed that
there were more than 437 million mobile phone users in the Chinese mainland, or
327 mobile phones per 1,000 population. The combined main lines and mobile
lines is expected to hit 976 million by 2008.
From January to August 2006, mobile phone users on the
mainland sent 273.67 million text messages.
On average, China's mobile subscribers increased by 4.78
million each month.
Domestic interprovincial fiber-optic trunk lines and
cellular telephone systems have been installed.
A domestic satellite system with 55 earth stations is in
place.
International satellite earth stations include 5 Intelsat (4
Pacific Ocean and 1 Indian Ocean), 1 Intersputnik (Indian Ocean region) and 1
Inmarsat (Pacific and Indian Ocean regions).
Several international fiber-optic links include those to
Japan, South Korea, Hong Kong, Russia, and Germany.
Fixed and mobile operators in China include China Mobile,
China Netcom, China TieTong, China Satcom, China Telecom and China Unicom.
Radio
- · See: China National Radio; China Radio International
- · Radio broadcast stations: AM 369, FM 259, shortwave 45 (1998)
- · Radios: 428 million [33 per 100 persons] (2000)
Television
Main articles: Television in the People's Republic of China
and Digital television in China
- Television companies: 358 (2008)
- Television broadcast stations: 3,240 (of which 209 are operated by China Central Television, 31 are provincial TV stations and nearly 3,000 are local city stations) (1997)
- Televisions: 493.90 million [38 per 100 persons] (2003)
Internet
See also: Internet
in the People's Republic of China; China Next Generation Internet; Chinese
Domain Name Consortium; Online gaming in China
- · Internet country code: .cn
- · Internet hosts: 13.57 million (2008)
- · Internet service providers (ISP): 3 (2000)
- · Internet users: 513 million (December 2011)[3]
- · Broadband Internet users: 363.81 million (June 2010)
- · Personal computers: 52,990,000 units [4 per 100 persons] (2004)
China's number
of Internet users or netizens topped 137 million by the end of 2006, an
increase of 23.4% from a year before and 162 million by June 2007, making China
the second largest Internet user after the United States. The latest figure
(December 2011) have China's internet users exceeding 513 million making it the
largest internet user in the world.
As of 2004, the largest concentration of Internet users were
from Guangdong, Zhejiang, Fujian, Jiangsu, Liaoning, Shandong and Hubei
provinces. Beijing, Shanghai and Tianjin also had a high concentration of
Internet users, with 28% of Beijing's population having access to the Internet.
As of 31
December 2005, there were an estimated 37,504,000 broadband lines in China. It
represented nearly a world share of 18%. Over 70% of the broadband lines were
via DSL and the rest via cable modems.
According to the
China Internet Network Information Centre (CNNIC), by June 2006, China's
broadband users had reached 77 million or about two-thirds of the total online
population, up 45% from a year ago. By June 2007 China's broadband users had
reached 122 million. The number of websites had also risen by more than 110,000
to a total of 788,400.
As of 2007, ITU
data puts China's broadband speed at 1Mbit/s. China is fast becoming the
world's largest broadband economy. It is laying quite a lot of fiber which is a
less disruptive option in China because of the amount of new building work
being done. It has 14 million fiber lines, compared to 9.6 million in Japan,
1.7m in the US and just a few thousand in the UK but it does not generate the
same speeds as in other Asian countries because the fiber tends to feed into
apartment blocks rather than individual homes.
There exists a
wide gap between Internet use in cities and rural areas, as statistics show.
The national average internet penetration rate is still just 31.8% (June 2010).
At the end of June 2007 there were 37.41 million netizens in the rural areas,
making up only 5.1 percent of the rural population and around 125 million
netizens living in the urban areas, making up 21.6 percent of the urban
population, according to the National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC).
The CNNIC survey showed 82.3 per cent of people using the Internet in China
were below 35 years old and almost 40 per cent of the netizens were aged 18 to
24. QQ is the most popular form of instant messaging on the Internet in China.
Mobile phone web users
The number of mobile phone web users in China was 73.05
million by June 2008, making up about 30% of China's 253 million internet
users.
Chinese mobile phone users access the Internet mainly via WAP
(Wireless Application Protocol). Numbers of active WAP users and WAP sites with
independent domain names amounted to 39 million and 65,000 respectively by
March 2007.
It is expected that in 2008 there will be 230 million WAP
users in China with a total market valued at RMB 22 billion.
Trans-Pacific Express
Main article: TPE (cable system)
The
Trans-Pacific Express is a telecommunications project to connect the United
States with China with a fiber-optic cable that is designed to meet increasing
internet traffic between the regions, with 60 times more capacity than existing
cables. It is to be the first undersea or submarine telecommunications cable
that directly links the US with China and the first independent trans-Pacific
connection. Current cable links between China and the US run through Japan.
The project
includes US Verizon Communications, Chinese firms China Telecom, China Netcom
and China Unicom, South Korea's Korea Telecom and Taiwan's Chunghwa Telecom.
The project was initiated in December 2006. Work began in mid-October 2007 in
Qingdao. It is scheduled to be completed by July 2008 (before the Beijing
Olympics).
Earthquake
hotspots have been avoided in the planned route of the cable to avoid potential
disruption to internet and telephone networks in Asia. The cable will extend
more than 18,000 km and will cost about $500m. It will terminate in Nedonna
Beach, Oregon with connections to Taiwan and South Korea. When complete, the
new cable will be able to support the equivalent of 62 million simultaneous
phone calls, with the design capacity to support future internet growth and
advanced applications such as video and e-commerce.
Provinces (省)
: Anhui (安省徽),
Fujian (福建省),
Gansu (甘肃省), Guangdong (广东省), Guizhou (贵州省), Hainan (海南省), Hebei
(河北省),
Heilongjiang (黑龙江省), Henan (河南省), Hubei
(湖北省),
Hunan (湖南省),
Jiangsu (江苏省), Jiangxi (江西省), Jilin
(吉林省),
Liaoning (辽宁省), Qinghai
(青海省),
Shaanxi (陕西省), Shandong
(山东), Shanxi (山西省), Sichuan
(四川省),
Taiwan (台湾省),
Yunnan (云南省),
Zhejiang (浙江省).
Autonomous regions (自治区): Guangxi (广西壮族自治区), Inner Mongolia / Nei Mongol (内蒙古自治区),
Ningxia (宁夏回族自治区), Xinjiang (新疆维吾尔自治区), Tibet / Xizang (西藏自治区).
Municipalities (直辖市): Beijing (北京市), Chongqing (重庆市), Shanghai
(上海市),
Tianjin (天津市).
Special administrative
regions (特别行政区): Hong Kong /
Xianggang (香港特别行政区), Macau / Aomen (澳门特别行政区).
