China and India remain Asia-Pacific's major telecommunications growth engines, with China leading in terms of telecom penetration and revenue, according to a report by Ernst & Young released yesterday.

But the Asian giants still have common nut to crack: realizing the full growth potential of rural consumers.

In 2006, China's telecom penetration was three times that of India, while China's telecom revenues reached $83 billion, four times that of India, according to the report titled "The Rise of the Asian Telecommunications Industry".