Over 2 Million New Broadband Subs in China in January 2011

China's broadband users reached 112.7 million at the end of January, 2011, an increase of 2 million from the end of the last quarter of 2010, according to the latest statistics released by China's telecom operators.

China Telecom's user base stands at 64.5 million as of January 2011, up 1 million from December 2010. China Netcom has a user base of 48.2 million as of January 2011, and an increase of 1 million from December 2010.

Check out our statistics section to find out the latest mobile user numbers, fixed-line subscribers, Xiaolingtong users, and more.

Interview with Guangzhou Easylink's Kenneth Cheng

As part of the research for our recently released report, Mobile Payment in China: 2010 Edition, we interviewed Kenneth Cheng, SVP of International Business at Guangzhou Easylink about the future of mobile payment and NFC applications in China. Below are some excerpts from the interview.

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Q: What are the major differences between mobile payment development and adoption in China compared with other countries?

With these kinds of services, China often lags behind in acceptance initially. One result of this is that the domestic market often benefits from existing technology that has already undergone several phases of development in other countries. In this way, it can leapfrog to advanced technology and skip many of the growing pains faced by early adopters.

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The Chinamode 2010 Awards Ceremony and the "O2O" Business Model in China

I attended the Chinamode 2010 Awards Ceremony on January 24, 2011 at The Star Live concert hall here in Beijing. It was a full day event co-organised by tech blogs and tech news media companies across the country. The awards, now in their second year, are given to the best web services and apps in China. Apparently last year's event was online only; this year's was both online and offline. Almost fifty finalists had been nominated in eight different categories by Chinese netizens voting online.

The afternoon panel discussions covered a wide range of current topics, including "The Future of Mobile Devices" to "Understanding Microblogging". One that I found particularly interesting was titled "The Future of the Online2Offline (O2O) business model". It was the first time that I heard the term O2O, which refers to the idea of finding consumers online and then bringing them into real world stores.

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2010 year-end China 3G Subscriber Numbers Released

China's 3G users reached 47 million at the end of 2010, a sizeable increase of 9 million from the end of the previous quarter, according to the latest statistics released by China's telecom operators. China Mobile, China's largest mobile operator, continues to lead the pack with 20.7 million 3G users, followed by China Unicom at 14.06 million and China Telecom at 12.29 million users.

Check out our statistics section to find out the latest mobile user numbers, fixed line subscribers, and more.

833 Million Mobile Users in China through November 2010

China's mobile users reached 833.19 million at the end of November, 2010, an increase of 9 million from the end of the October, according to the latest statistics released by China's telecom operators.

China Mobile, China's largest mobile operator, continues to lead the pack with 579.64 million as of 1^st November, up 4 million from the month of August. China Unicom has a user base of 165.53 million as of 1^st November, and that is an increase of 2 million from October. China Telecom's user base stands at 88.02 million.

 

Check out our statistics section to find out the latest mobile user numbers, fixed line subscribers, xiaolingtong users, and more.

Payment Methods for Utilities in Beijing - Prepaid vs Postpaid

Every country has its own payment preferences for utilities such as electricity, gas, and water. The various methods can be generalized as either prepaid or postpaid. Back home in Singapore, postpaid is the preferred method; in Beijing, however, both prepaid and postpaid methods are common.

In Singapore, payment for all utilities is postpaid. The system is quite strict, however. Any late payment will add 1% to the next month's bill. If the bill remains unpaid yet another month, the service is simply shut down.

In Beijing, electricity is the most common prepaid utility. A co-worker of mine who lives in an apartment explained the process to me. After obtaining a card from the State Grid electric utility, he purchases electricity credits (generally done at a bank in Bejing) then slots the card into his home electric meter.

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38 Million 3G Users in China through October 2010

China's 3G users reached 37.79 million at the end of October, 2010, a sizeable increase of 9 million from the end of the previous quarter, according to the latest statistics released by China's telecom operators. China Mobile, China's largest mobile operator, continues to lead the pack with 16.98 million 3G users, followed by China Unicom at 11.66 million and China Telecom at 9.15 million users.

Check out our statistics section to find out the latest mobile user numbers, fixed line subscribers, and more.

Public Transportation Payments in Shanghai -- Expensive but Efficient

I spent a recent weekend in Shanghai to visit the 2010 World Expo as well as the Bund, Xintiandi, and other well-known attractions. I took quite a few subways and taxis during this time, and I was able to compare Shanghai's public transportation payment system and Beijing's Yikatong system, which I have written about in previous posts.

Like Beijing, Shanghai uses a rechargeable contactless smartcard, called (fittingly) the Shanghai Public Transportation Card (SPTC), or Jiaotong Yikatong in Chinese. The basic workings of the two systems are fairly similar; the two most noticeable differences are the distance-based fare system and the significantly higher overall cost of subway travel in Shanghai.

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Over 107 million broadband users in China through September 2010

China's broadband users reached 107.1 million at the end of September, 2010, an increase of 5 million from the end of the 1st quarter of 2010, according to the latest statistics released by China's telecom operators.

China Telecom's user base stands at 61 million as of 1^st September, up 1 million from the month of August. China Netcom has a user base of 46 million as of 1^st September, and that is an increase of 600,000 from August.

Check out our statistics section to find out the latest mobile user numbers, fixed line subscribers, xiaolingtong users, and more.

Beijing's Yikatong Card, Part 3: Non-transportation Services

My previous two posts covered on Yikatong as a form of payment for the public transportation, including taxis in Beijing. Like the Octopus in Hong Kong and the EZLink in Singapore, Yikatong payment works for a growing number of non-transportation services as well. To get a clearer picture of how this service works, I tried to make purchases at a number of shops in Beijing.

I chose several places near our office in the Dongzhimen neighborhood. All of them were listed on the Beijing Municipal Administration and Communications Card company's official site as being able to accept Yikatong for payment. Here are the results for the seven different stores I visited:

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