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Briefs: China predicts 820 million phones in 2006
China expects to have more than 820 million telephone subscribers by the end of the New Year, the government predicted Wednesday.
The Ministry of Information Industry said 2006 would see 30 million new fixed-line subscribers and 48 million mobile users, the China Daily reported.
The increase will raise telecom-sector income to around $86 billion this year, the ministry predicted.
The newspaper hailed the increase as a success for Beijing's five-year plan that expired in 2005 and produced revenue increases for China's telecom sector of 13.4 percent annually.
Copyright 2006 by United Press International