Hunan Unicom has launched these services in 14 cities and prefectures on a trial commercial operation. Subscribers to Unicom 3G in the province can benefit from video telephone, surfing the Internet, listening to music, and reading newspapers or multimedia messages with a mobile phone.
To ensure smooth trials of 3G business in Hunan, a fund worth almost US$440 million was established to enable construction of a WCDMA network, allowing the operator to offer complete coverage, advanced technology and operational stability.
In the next phase Hunan Unicom will introduce wireless broadband data services, including 3G push mail, 3G instant messaging and video customer service. At the moment, more than 40 types of WCDMA mobile phone are available in the market, ranging from US$117 to US$731. These come from well-known brands such as Samsung, Motorola, Sony Ericsson, Dopod, ZTE and Huawei.
The operator has adopted the unified charge-model prevailing throughout China. In the case of business charges for 3G, there is what the company describes as "integration of long-distance call, local call and roaming" i.e. the same charge for anywhere in China whether long-distance, local or roaming, with no charge for the person or organisation receiving the call. During this initial trial period, all subscribers in Hunan will enjoy a 50% discount.
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