China Telecom to Market Cheap 3G Handsets

China Telecom (NYSE: CHA, HKG: 0728), the nation's largest landline and broadband services provider, has started sourcing 3.6 million 3G-based mobile handsets and will make them available under ¥1,000 apiece in September at the earliest. Samsung, LG, Motorola, Nokia, Huawei, ZTE (SHE: 000063, HKG: 0763), Yulong, and Lenovo are bidding for the tender, Ma Daojie, president of Tianyi, China Telecom's 3G brand, told the China Securities Journal last Friday. Tianyi had sold over 100,000 3G phones and 30,000 netbooks as of early June. China Telecom has recently been reported to be in talks about the introduction of the BlackBerry.

$1 = ¥6.8