Technological innovation

However, according to the China Computer Federation, the telecom operators have not provided sufficient independently certified data to prove that WeChat's signaling has caused the telecom network to crash.

Even if the problem really is serious, several providers of telecom equipment and network solutions, such as ZTE Corp, have claimed they can solve the problem through technological renovation, said Du of the federation.

"When talking about the signaling problem, China Mobile avoided mentioning a crucial element - that is, the company's 2G (second generation) network is not designed for large-scale data services," said Kan of the University of Posts and Telecommunications.

China Unicom and China Telecom have no such problem because they have built 3G networks, he added.

On March 25, China Telecom denied it was in negotiations with Tencent regarding charges for WeChat. According to a company representative, OTT services have affected voice services and traditional value-added services to a certain degree, but they have also helped China Telecom to exploit its advantages in 3G networks and promoted rapid growth in mobile-data services.

In an e-mailed reply to questions from China Daily, Tencent said it has conducted technological optimization of the 2G/2.5G networks and hopes to reduce the pressure of WeChat's signaling to gateways through technical communication, cooperation and innovations with telecom operators.

"In China, telecommunications services are divided into basic telecom services and value-added services. Only the three main telecom operators are allowed to provide basic telecom services. But WeChat redefines what is a value-added service and what is a basic telecommunications service. That's what makes the operators afraid," said a partner at a Beijing law firm, who asked not to be named. "WeChat will also change the current structure of interest (the market share) among the major telecom operators," he said.

China Mobile has reacted strongly to WeChat because the service has placed a heavy burden on its signaling channel across the 2G network. The money earned from WeChat's data traffic can't cover the company's investment in the basic network, including signaling channels, he added.

This year, China Mobile will invest more than 41 billion yuan in its mobile communications networks, including its TD-LTE 4G network. The lawyer said the company stands to lose a great opportunity for development if it continues to fight the fast-growing WeChat. Once construction of its 4G network is complete, in three to five years, the growth of the network will rely heavily on data traffic brought by apps such as WeChat.

"Sooner or later, WeChat will build innovative business models such as mobile payment, mobile banking and mobile advertising to bring in huge revenues. Telecom operators should sit down with the service providers to discuss whether or not to charge fees for using the service, how much those fees will be and how they will be paid," he said.