China to spend $70bn in 2015 to expand internet access

China had 649 million internet users by the end of 2014 said a government report in February [Xinhua]

The Chinese Cabinet vowed on Wednesday to invest hundreds of billions of yuan in the coming years to boost Internet speed and expand broadband access in rural regions.

The country plans to spend more than 430 billion yuan ($70.4 billion) in 2015 and more than 700 billion yuan total in 2016 and 2017 to promote network construction, according to a guideline issued by the State Council, China’s cabinet.

China had 649 million internet users by the end of 2014, with 557 million of those using handsets to go online, said a government report in February.

The country’s internet penetration rate is 47.9 percent and rural users only account for just over a quarter of China’s total, says Chinese official data. By comparison, in the United States 74.4 percent of households reported internet use in 2013, according to the United States Census Bureau.

According to the Chinese Cabinet guidelines revealed on Wednesday, China will accelerate building of the country’s high-speed broadband networks and improve access in more than 14,000 villages by the end of 2015.

By the end of 2017, the average cable broadband speed for users in major cities will be increased to 30 megabytes per second (Mbps), more than triple the current speed, while that in smaller cities will be upgraded to 20 Mbps.

According to the guideline, “the telecom market will continue to be opened and more competition will be encouraged, and a pilot scheme for broadband services will be expanded this year”.

China has an extensive internet censorship system, scrubbing domestic services of any sensitive content and blocking overseas services including Google, Facebook, Twitter and YouTube, as well as websites such as that of the New York Times.

Source: Agencies