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China Offered 1st VoIP Service Operation License, Sources Said(SinoCast Via Thomson Dialog NewsEdge)SHENZHEN, Mar 14, 2006 (SinoCast via COMTEX) --It is said that a company from southern China obtained the first VoIP service operation license as a pilot. Telecom carriers and virtual network operators (VNO) will be able to apply for the license by 2007 when the country will fully open the market. However, experts from China's Ministry of Information Industry (MII), the industry regulator, expressed their doubtness. Earlier, the ministry approved the fixed-line carrier China Telecom to launch experiments in Shenzhen and Shangrao, two cities in Guangdong and Jiangxi Provinces, and ratified the counterpart China Netcom to present the same business in Changchun and Taian, cities of Jilin and Shandong Provinces. But the two operators were not willing to do so because the VoIP service will erode a great deal of profit from the fixed-phone service, according to sources familiar with the matter. VoIP stands for Voice over Internet Protocol, and the service enables users to communicate over computers and Internet but not via switches, core networks and other expensive equipment. From www.thebeijingnews.com, Page 1, Monday, March 13, 2006 [email protected] |