(Ecns.cn) -- The National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC) have officially launched an anti-monopoly investigation into China's two telecommunications giants - China Unicom and China Telecom.
The investigation will focus on the high charges by the two state-owned companies for Internet service provision and will decide whether they have abused their monopoly position in the market.
The two companies could face up to billions of yuan in fines, if If the allegations are proven, according to the "News 30 minutes" program of the CCTV News Channel.
The two companies, accounting for 85 percent of market share in the broadband access segment in China, were blocking other corporations from entering the broadband market with their dominance, the complaints alleged.
The probe so far has showed that the two have taken advantage of their dominance by charging full price to market rivals while offering discounts to others if they are not threatening to their businesses.
Shares of No.2 telecommunications operator China Unicom (Hong Kong) Ltd (0762.HK) and smaller rival China Telecom Corp Ltd (0728.HK) reversed early gains to fall more than 3 percent after the report.
China Unicom said in a statement to the Shanghai Stock Exchange Wednesday that it has always provided broadband services strictly "in accordance with the relevant laws and regulations."
The company is cooperating with the NDRC and will provide the data it needs, according to the statement.
As Shanghai Daily reported, China Telecom's Shanghai spokeswoman declined to comment. China Telecom is China's largest broadband Internet supplier, with 73.7 million subscribers by the end of September, while China Unicom has 54.5 million users, according to data the firms released last month.
