UPDATE: China Unicom Targets Adding Over 1 Million 3G Users A Month
November 03 2009 - 5:33AM
Dow Jones News
China Unicom (Hong Kong) Ltd. (CHU), which started offering
Apple Inc.'s (AAPL) iPhone in China last week, is targeting
increasing the number of its third-generation mobile users by more
than 1 million a month, Chairman Chang Xiaobing said Tuesday.
The company launched 3G services in China Oct. 1 and had more
than 1 million subscribers to the mobile technology standard at the
end of that month, Chang said.
He said China Unicom has signed up more than 5,000 iPhone users
in China since it launched the phone there Friday and it expects
the Apple phone to boost its average revenue per user. The company
is the only seller of the iPhone in China at the moment, though
China Mobile Ltd. has said it is in talks with Apple.
But analysts say China Unicom's high pricing of the iPhone will
limit demand for the product.
China Unicom has been selling the 32-gigabyte iPhone 3GS for
CNY6,999 ($1,024) without a service contract, higher than the
around $800 consumers pay for the same product in Hong Kong, which
has different wireless carriers than on the mainland.
Chang said the company hopes to offer more low-cost smartphones
to drive its 3G business.
Analysts also said China Unicom's earnings will decline in the
short term because of its 3G startup costs and as its fixed-line
business comes under growing pressure from subscribers switching to
mobile phones.
The fixed-line business accounted for about 50% of the company's
first-half revenue excluding upfront connection fees of CNY74.23
billion.
"In the early investment stage of our 3G business, we will see
revenue growth and user addition lagging behind the increase in
operating expenses and network costs, but this will be temporary,"
Chang said.
China Unicom Chief Financial Officer Tong Jilu said the company
expects its 3G operating expenses, which include handset subsidies
and advertising expenses, to account for 30% of total 3G revenue in
2010.
Competition in China's telecommunications market has intensified
since the government awarded 3G operating licenses to China Unicom,
China Mobile and China Telecom Corp. in January.
All three companies have been striving to roll out new 3G
services with lower tariffs and higher handset subsidies to boost
demand.
-By Lorraine Luk, Dow Jones Newswires; 852-2802-7002;
lorraine.luk@dowjones.com
China Unicom (NYSE:CHU)
Historical Stock Chart
From Jun 2024 to Jul 2024
China Unicom (NYSE:CHU)
Historical Stock Chart
From Jul 2023 to Jul 2024