A project to increase Internet access and upgrade broadband service in Fujian province will be launched soon, according to authorities.
The project is pertaining to Broadband China, a national strategy created by Chinese central leadership in 2013, which aims to expand and speed up the network. This is according to a joint announcement issued by 16 provincial departments including the Fujian Communication Administration and the Fujian Development and Reform Commission.
The announcement laid out Fujian’s many goals: to speed up its urban broadband network, increase 8M service, improve wireless broadband and Third Generation (3G) coverage, promote 4G coverage, expand the Wireless Local Area Network (WLAN), and implement a broadband network in rural areas—all by the end of this year.
More specifically, the project strives to expand fiber optical internet to 8.2 million households, 1 million more than now, and increase the number of fixed-broadband subscribers by over 1 million to nearly ten million total across the province.
As many as 270,000 4G base stations will be added, and the number of 3G users is expected to grow to 16 million, up by 25 percent, according to the announcement.
Meanwhile, more than 90 percent of broadband subscribers will have access to 4M service or faster, and 40 percent of them will enjoy the 8M network.
Backgrounder:
The "Broadband China" strategy outlined the target and timetable for China to become a leader in international broadband accessibility.
It sets out three plans for China to deploy and upgrade its current broadband networks.
By the end of this year, 40 percent of the country's households will have access to fixed broadband and 25 percent of Chinese citizens will be able to access third generation (3G) or fourth generation (4G) mobile broadband services.
The nation's broadband penetration rate will be greatly raised by 2015, when fixed broadband coverage of households is expected to increase to 50 percent, while mobile broadband coverage must surpass 32.5 percent, according to targets set by the State Council.
Under the strategy, the next few years will see optical fiber to the home (FTTH), or to the building (FTTB) completed in cities by 2015.
Urban household broadband speeds should reach 20 Mbps, with some getting even faster service of 100 Mbps. Rural households will have access to speeds of 4 Mbps.
By the target year, China will have a fixed broadband user base of 270 million and 850 million Internet surfers.
The third stage of construction will follow from 2016 to 2020. The State Council has stipulated that the gap between China's broadband infrastructure level and that of developed countries must be narrowed, and broadband speeds in urban and rural households will need to reach 50 Mbps and 12 Mbps by 2020.
