Broad plan needed for China's ailing broadband
- By Zhang Junmian
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E-mail China.org.cn, March 21, 2012
China's broadband Internet service lags behind that seen in other countries and is a problem which may hamper the country's economic development. This problem could be solved by devising and implementing a national strategy to pool the resources and key services of all industry stakeholders, according to a commentary by the People's Posts and Telecommunications News (PPTN).
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China's broadband Internet service current lags behind that seen in other countries and is a problem which may hamper the country's economic development. This problem could be solved by devising and implementing a national strategy to pool the resources and key services of all industry stakeholders. [File photo] |
The evidence for this lies in the fact that China's telecom industry has been the sole driving force in terms of promoting broadband.
As a result, China, the world's second-largest economy, fared poorly in a recent global evaluation of broadband performance, which took into account a range of factors, including speed, coverage and affordability.
The latest report from global CDN provider Akamai shows that the Chinese mainland is currently ranked 90th internationally with an average connection speed of 1.4Mbps in the 3rd quarter of 2011, which is well below the worldwide average of 2.7Mbps, and lagging far behind global broadband leader South Korea's 16.7Mbps. However, China's broadband fees are four times higher than the United States' and 29 times higher South Korea's, according to the Data Center of China Internet (DCCI).
The center even received numerous claims and complaints regarding what has been called "false broadband". According to the complaints, the average connection speed of more than half of Internet users is well below the standard promised by service providers.
In addition, China's broadband penetration rate was only 11.7 percent in 2011, much lower than the 25.1 percent seen in developed countries. The broadband penetration rate gap between China and developed countries also widened from 10 percentage points in 2005 to 13.4 percentage points in 2011.
China Telecom and China Unicom, the country's leading broadband operators, have come under fire, facing accusations of hindering the country's broadband advancement through their monopolization of the sector.
However, the facts behind the figures tell a different story. China's service providers actually helped to accelerate average Internet speeds in the country by 43 percent in 2011. But, a global increase in Internet speed of 39 percent put the figure into perspective, in light of the much faster existing speeds in other countries.
Despite declining profits and a lack of government support in terms of policies or funds, China's broadband operators launched huge solo investments to promote a fiber-optic broadband network in 2011. Last year saw the number of Chinese broadband subscribers increase by 30 million, with the total number of subscribers in the country reaching 156 million. China Telecom alone gained a further 20 million subscribers to its fiber-optic services. Between 2010 and 2012, the telecom enterprises are set to invest the 150 billion yuan (US$23.8 billion) needed to facilitate optical fiber broadband construction across the country.
However, progress has been slow due to factors such as limited pipeline space in urban areas, skyrocketing charges, both for carrying out the work of laying cables, and securing approval, as well as other related issues. The vast, rural remoteness of areas of central and western China has also played a role in slowing progress.
From a global perspective, the advancement of broadband is seen as a top priority, given the knock-on effects of fuelled technological innovation, economic growth and national competitiveness, especially since the global financial crisis hit in 2008. Currently, about 112 countries and regions have formulated national broadband development strategies supported by preferential policies, significant government funding, subsidies and free loans.
During the same period, China spent a stimulus package of 4 trillion yuan (US$635 billion) to finance programs in major areas such as water, electricity and transportation. Unfortunately, broadband advancement was not included in the spending plan. As a result China's telecom industry bore sole responsibility for broadband network construction.
In sharp contrast to other countries, China has neither formed a unified plan to develop its broadband services, nor established a proper state guidance and service delivery mechanism. The enhancement of broadband services is instead regarded as the social responsibility of telecom operators or regular business concerns. Under these circumstances, it is hard to see how China can achieve reasonably priced, high-speed and comprehensive broadband Internet access.
Of the 144 developing countries in the world, 99 provide universal telephone services and 36 provide broadband universal services. By contrast, China has yet to set aside specific funding for universal telephone services to ensure that everyone has access to telephone communications. China has implemented preferential policies in such sectors as farming machinery, agricultural production materials, pesticides, and fertilizers. Broadband development, however, remains absent from the list.
It was only in late February that several ministerial-level departments, including the National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC) and the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology (MIIT), initiated the joint strategic research on "Broadband China" under the framework of the 12th Five-Year Plan (2011-2015).
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