So far, there is no timetable for the launch of the fund said the official at a seminar sponsored by the MII and the International Telecommunication Union (ITU). A number of questions are yet to be answered, such as the source of the funds and who should benefit from the fund?

The government’s definition of a “telecom popularization fund” is that any person should be able to afford telecom services at any place, and such services should have identical prices. China's telecom regulations also provide that telecom service operators shall implement telecom popularization services according to related stipulations of the state.

China has set a goal of providing all villages with access to telecom services by 2010 and giving all households access by 2020. The telecom service access project was launched at the start of 2004, and by the end of July 2005, telecom service had reached 19,609 villages formerly without access – which represented 52% of the end goal of reaching all villages.

China at present has six telecom operators: China Telecom, China Mobile, China Netcom, China Unicom, China Railcom, and China Satcom. They are jointly responsible for providing all villages with access to telecom service. According to the plan, telephone service will reach 95% of all villages in the country by the end of 2005.

However, it is still uncertain how telecom service will reach the remaining 5% of villages. Some experts have proposed the establishment of a telecom popularisation service fund to accomplish the objective.

Source: Asia Pulse - WDR/Intelecon Regulatory News