Infrastructure a Concern for China

A few months ago, the three major carriers in China: China Mobile, China Unicom, and China Telecom, formed China Communications Facilities Services Corporation. This new company will build, maintain, and operate the telecommunications towers across the county. A previous report noted that China Communications Facilities Services planned to build one million new towers. The three national operators are facing a series of challenges as the deadline for the operators to inject assets approaches, according to reports in the South China Morning Post. There are still questions concerning this endeavor such as the actual number of towers to be built, the quality and location of the towers, and lease agreements. Barclays estimated that the mainland had 1.61 million telecommunications towers and 3.41 million mobile base stations as of the end of last month. While all three companies seem to be happy with the arrangement so far, this joint venture will continue to be controversial until the details are clear as the three are concerned about the transfer price they will get for their assets.