Beijing, Shanghai to speed up Internet service

Beijing (CNS) -- As part of a national plan to improve the country's Internet service, authorities in Beijing and Shanghai announced Thursday that Internet bandwidth will be doubled in 2012, but fees will not go up.

The Ministry of Industry and Information Technology (MIIT) is also forming a plan to lower Internet service fees, according to Xu Jianping, an official at the Department of High-Tech Industry under the National Development and Reform Commission.

By the end of this month, the Beijing branches of two telecom giants China Unicom and China Telecom will double their speeds without increasing charges. Some of the city's residents have already experienced faster Internet service.

Shanghai initiated the plan in October and had almost finished optical fiber upgrading by the end of last year, according to a manager at the local China Telecom office.

Guangzhou also realized acceleration last year.