ONI Country Profi le
277
2010.
38 Mobile phones are a means of accessing the Internet for more than 300 million
mobile users,
39 with over 10 percent of users accessing the Internet solely through
their mobile phone.
40
China ’ s Internet users access a variety of resources online, including social networking, instant messaging, video sharing, and blogs. Search engines remain the primary
use of the Internet, with 81.9 percent of users using these services.
41 Despite their
dominance of the search-engine market throughout much of the world, Google is a
distant second in China. China-based Baidu dominates the search-engine market with
75 percent market share compared to Google ’ s 19 percent, particularly following
Google ’ s spat with CCP leadership over censorship and cyber attacks.
42 The use of
instant messaging on mobile devices has grown, especially in regions with limited
connectivity options.
43 Other services have also expanded. More than 3 million users
use microblogging services,
44 and the country has the largest population of Voice over
Internet Protocol (VoIP) users in the world.
45
Access to the Internet in China is controlled by the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology (MIIT) and is provided by eight state-licensed Internet service
providers (ISPs). The MIIT ’ s mandate includes regulating telecommunications, Internet, and broadband as well as supervising IT development.
46 The telecommunications
industry is dominated by a small group of state-owned companies. China Telecom
Group is the largest telecommunications company in the country, controlling 70
percent of the local market.
47 China Telecom and the second-largest ISP, China Unicom,
combined serve more than 20 percent of the world ’ s total broadband users.
48 With six
international backbone links, China ’ s international bandwidth has grown consistently
and now exceeds 1 million Mbps.
49
A major restructuring of the telecom industry in China took place in 2008, with
the six state-owned companies merged into three networks, greatly increasing the
capacity of large fi rms to expand into wireless services.
50 By January 2009, the MIIT
had issued 3G licenses to China Unicom and China Telecom using EVDO and WCDMA
standards, as well as to China Mobile using the unproven TD-SCDMA standard unique
to China.
51
The expansion of Internet access has created a vibrant and dynamic online community throughout the country that has had a signifi cant impact on public discourse,
while also drawing the attention of government offi cials. Online discussion has frequently elevated local incidents to national prominence, with Web portals and forums
dropping “ information bombs ” that have led to the tarnished reputations and dismissal of senior offi cials.
52 In an unpublished investigative report obtained by David
Bandurski of the China Media Project, the vice president of People ’ s Daily Online said
that two-thirds of the few hundred secret internal reports that CCP top leaders give
priority and action to are from the Internet Offi ce of the State Council Information
Offi ce.
53
277
2010.
38 Mobile phones are a means of accessing the Internet for more than 300 million
mobile users,
39 with over 10 percent of users accessing the Internet solely through
their mobile phone.
40
China ’ s Internet users access a variety of resources online, including social networking, instant messaging, video sharing, and blogs. Search engines remain the primary
use of the Internet, with 81.9 percent of users using these services.
41 Despite their
dominance of the search-engine market throughout much of the world, Google is a
distant second in China. China-based Baidu dominates the search-engine market with
75 percent market share compared to Google ’ s 19 percent, particularly following
Google ’ s spat with CCP leadership over censorship and cyber attacks.
42 The use of
instant messaging on mobile devices has grown, especially in regions with limited
connectivity options.
43 Other services have also expanded. More than 3 million users
use microblogging services,
44 and the country has the largest population of Voice over
Internet Protocol (VoIP) users in the world.
45
Access to the Internet in China is controlled by the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology (MIIT) and is provided by eight state-licensed Internet service
providers (ISPs). The MIIT ’ s mandate includes regulating telecommunications, Internet, and broadband as well as supervising IT development.
46 The telecommunications
industry is dominated by a small group of state-owned companies. China Telecom
Group is the largest telecommunications company in the country, controlling 70
percent of the local market.
47 China Telecom and the second-largest ISP, China Unicom,
combined serve more than 20 percent of the world ’ s total broadband users.
48 With six
international backbone links, China ’ s international bandwidth has grown consistently
and now exceeds 1 million Mbps.
49
A major restructuring of the telecom industry in China took place in 2008, with
the six state-owned companies merged into three networks, greatly increasing the
capacity of large fi rms to expand into wireless services.
50 By January 2009, the MIIT
had issued 3G licenses to China Unicom and China Telecom using EVDO and WCDMA
standards, as well as to China Mobile using the unproven TD-SCDMA standard unique
to China.
51
The expansion of Internet access has created a vibrant and dynamic online community throughout the country that has had a signifi cant impact on public discourse,
while also drawing the attention of government offi cials. Online discussion has frequently elevated local incidents to national prominence, with Web portals and forums
dropping “ information bombs ” that have led to the tarnished reputations and dismissal of senior offi cials.
52 In an unpublished investigative report obtained by David
Bandurski of the China Media Project, the vice president of People ’ s Daily Online said
that two-thirds of the few hundred secret internal reports that CCP top leaders give
priority and action to are from the Internet Offi ce of the State Council Information
Offi ce.
53