[lbo-talk] 'Communist' China at forefront of mobile revolution

[/ dave /]

[Plot for dystopian novel: A decade or so into the new century, 
citizens of major urban locales the world over begin dropping 
like flies after epidemic of brain cancer resulting from chronic 
cellphone use sets in. In an astonishing and wholly unexpected 
'over-correction', the remaining denizens of the planet 
spontaneously revert to agrarian and other low-density modes of 
existence, and a solitary ewe is seen to wander up Fifth Avenue 
in NYC . . .]

http://biz.yahoo.com/rc/031202/telecoms_china_1.html

Communist China at forefront of mobile revolution
Tuesday December 2, 8:36 pm ET
By Juliana Liu

BEIJING, Dec 3 (Reuters) - Egg crepe seller Zhang Zhengnong said 
his family was one of the first in its poor neighbourhood in 
rural China to install a telephone at home.

"It was a big deal," recalled the 28-year-old from the central 
province of Anhui, cracking open eggs and scattering spring 
onions to stuff Chinese "jianbing" at Beijing's busiest outdoor 
market.

"All the neighbours came over to use our phone because it was 
the only one for miles around. We were always passing along 
messages for other people."

That was a decade ago. Zhang, who moved to the capital in 2001 
to sell the savoury snack, bought a shiny silver mobile phone 
last year, joining nearly 257 million other cellphone 
subscribers who have been quietly leading a revolution in 
telecommunications.

The officially Communist country, which once discouraged private 
citizens from owning luxury items such as telephones, hit a 
milestone last weekend when it became one of the few markets to 
boast more mobile phone subscribers than fixed-line users.

While operators in more developed economies struggle to grow in 
saturated markets, China's mobile users are likely to double to 
500 million by 2007, surpassing the population of the United States.

"There's still a lot of room for growth," said Craig Watts, a 
director at Beijing-based Norson Telecom Consulting. "China is 
going to be the world's most important mobile market in the next 
10 years."

In the vegetable and dry goods market where Zhang works, the 
mobile trade is flourishing.

About a dozen shabby mobile phone stalls have taken over shops 
that previously sold clothing or shoes. Superstitious callers 
can buy a phone number ending in lucky numbers such as 2 and 8.

The rise in subscribers is being driven by China's sizzling 
economy, which expanded 8.5 percent in the first nine months of 
this year, Merrill Lynch analyst Agnes Ho said in a research report.

"(This) is good news for equipment makers, as it signals the 
need for further network expansion and demand for handsets," she 
wrote.