China Netcom, the country's second largest fixed-line operator, says it is certain to secure a third generation mobile license.

The Financial Times quoted the company's chief executive Edward Tian as saying there was no possibility Netcom would miss out on winning one of an expected three licenses.

The executive also said China Unicom, which also runs a network based on the CDMA standard, could be merged with China Netcom after selling one of its cellular networks to China Telecom.

China's telecoms industry is expected to undergo major restructuring this year ahead of the planned introduction of advanced 3G mobile networks.

The newspaper, citing a Chinese industry executive, said the central government was likely to finalize details of the restructuring in two months and award three 3G licences by end of the year.

(CRI.com April 12, 2005)