China to speed up broadband rollouts

China’s Ministry of Industry and IT (MIIT) plans to accelerate the development of broadband access in the country in order to bolster its economic and social development, according to a statement on the ministry’s website.

Liu Lihua, vice minister of MIIT, wishes for China to have more than 250mn broadband users by the end of 2015, with access speeds to reach 20Mbps in urban areas and 4Mbps in rural areas. The ministry is also aiming to increase broadband service coverage to 95 per cent of the country by 2015.

Liu has urged Chinese companies to intensify their research and development activities in order to provide high-quality products that meet the different needs of small and medium-sized enterprises, schools, households and communities.

The MIIT will formulate more regulations to ensure fair competition in, and the smooth development of, the broadband industry, said Liu, noting that more than 100 countries around the world have already launched broadband development strategies.

China had about 150mn broadband users by the end of last year, and a further 355 million users on dial-up access, according to data from the Internet Society of China.