Digital TV in China

I  will see to find the source later, but this is interesting already as it is, a press release by SARFT: 
SARFT, 1/21/08
The General Office of the State Council has issued the "Policies to Encourage DTV Industry Development" to 6 ministries, giving strong support to the development of digital TV, and highlighting areas where telecom and broadcasting players can converge. The 6 ministries include the National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC), Ministry of Science and Technology (MOST), Ministry of Finance, Ministry of Information Industry (MII), State Administration of Taxation, and State Administration of Radio, Film and Television (SARFT). The Policies will be implemented from February 1, 2008

The policy first re-states the official goals for DTV development:

• to broadcast the Olympic Games in digital high-definition in 2008;
• complete cable DTV conversion in most area at and above the county level by 2010, and shut down analog signals by 2015;
• realize the strategic shift of the domestic TV set industry from analog to digital, reaching annual sales revenue from digital TV sets and related products of RMB 250 bln, and exports of USD 10 bln.

The policy encourages DTV-related enterprises to source capital through stock market listings, bond issues, or, for firms already listed, issuance of new shares. Such firms will also receive preferential tax treatment, with DTV operators to enjoy up to 3 years of exemption from sales tax on revenues from cable DTV basic subscription fees until 2010.

The policy emphasizes that cable DTV receiving terminals (include set-top boxes and all-in-one digital TV sets) must implement separation of STB from conditional access module. Use of domestically developed technologies is to be encouraged in DTV broadcasting systems, while existing foreign conditional access (CA) systems should be simulcrypted.

The policy is the first to clearly promote "convergence", encouraging broadcasting organizations to provide DTV service and value-added telecom services via national public communication networks, broadcasting networks and other information networks. Involvement of state-owned enterprises, including telecom companies, in DTV access network construction and terminal digital upgrades will also be supported.

Are the Movies Back?

I frequently go back to the UME website - always nurturing the dire hope that there must be a day when more interesting produce than "Assembly" and "Warlords" hits Beijing's big screens (I think I would physically give my left arm to see a non-censored version of "No Country for Old Men" on one of the Beijing big-ass multiplex screens - both arms for a double feature with "There will be blood"). During the comfort of the No-US-Movies moratorium that of course did not exist, the screens filled with some extravagant stuff (most if which was outright rubbish) and with a bit of threshold material, pretending not to be American (My Blueberry Pies, I think it was called).
Now I come back to see whether it's better to go for the DVD collection on an uncomfortable Saturday afternoon, and here he is: Will Smith and the Film With the Spelling Mistake in The Title. I would have much preferred to see the IMAX version of I am Legend, of course, but this is not so much a film now, but more a light on the horizon, indicating the point has been made about the WTO and the Chinese film's market share has been re-established (or maybe it's a technicality and one of the producers had an English grandmother? Never mind, it's the signal that counts!). At least this promises a couple of blockbusters in a decent technology setting. Get out the 3-D goggles, Beowulf can't be far!
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Posted By Thomas to CinemaWatch at 1/19/2008 04:20:00 PM

Net piracy exists

It's only China Daily, but it still may be true that "Internet copyright infringement is still very prevalent in the country", as an NCAC offical was quoted.

Some facts to go:
"Figures released Thursday show that in the latest crackdown from August to October last year, 1,001 copyright infringement cases were investigated, 60 percent more than the combined number in the two previous campaigns in 2005 and 2006.

The authorities closed 339 illegal websites, confiscated 123 servers and imposed fines of more than 870,000 yuan ($120,000) on violators, up 65 percent, 73 percent and 23 percent over 2006.

Of the cases handled, 31 were transferred to police, five times the number the previous year, according to police figures."

See http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/china/2008-01/18/content_6402839.htm

Top 10 Internet-related Events in China 2007

I am not sure whether there is anything on this list you would call an "event" in any other country, but still: the 200 Mio web user threshold has been blown to smithereens. Oh, and pornography and spam is gone now.

http://www.china.org.cn/english/China/239398.htm

SARFT and MII regulations on online video

Not really new anymore, but still not in effect before January 31, so it's still time to read the English translation of the latest SARFT / MII cooperation, setting up some barriers for video websites. You find the link to the English version at digitalwatch, together with a brief analysis what that means for the site operators. http://digitalwatch.ogilvy.com.cn/en/?p=176

Chinese Telecoms Overhaul, at last?

Another year, another set of rumours, this one charming with a stunning
level of detail. Frederick Yeung writes in an article titled "Beijing gives
all-clear to telecoms restructuring: Mergers and management reshuffles to
boost competition" (SCMP, Jan 11, 2008):

The Communist Party has reportedly signed off on the long-awaited
restructuring of the telecommunications industry that will include a series
of mega mergers and a reshuffle of senior executives.
Sources said top leaders in Beijing had put the finishing touches to the
industry revamp at meetings last month and this month.

See the story at Forbes

China's Web users leave US behind (Shanghai Daily)

and another quick update on recent facts and figures:

China's Web users leave US behind
By Nicholas Ning 2008-1-9 Read the full story at Shanghai Daily
CHINESE Web users will spend 45.8 percent more this year on online games and booking hotel and flight tickets, among other services available online, as China overtakes the United States to become the world's largest Internet market by Web population size.

Total spending by Chinese Internet users will hit 581.5 billion yuan (US$77.53 billion), while the Web population will hit 244 million by the end of 2008 from last year's 182 million, an increase of 34 percent, said an Internet Society of China report issued yesterday.

Of last year's spending, the bulk was for Internet access fees and online shopping, while only a small percentage of users paid for services such as online music, video and anti-virus software, the report, titled Netguide 2008, showed. The spending figures don't include online advertising.

The report's findings are based on data collected from a survey of 50,786 mainland Internet users and 270 companies across the country, as well as from seminars and interviews with industry experts.

The monthly spend per Web user last year was 182.6 yuan, and ISC predicts a 8.8 percent growth for each Web user this year.

Online game, ranking third most paid-for service per Web user last year, is expected to bring the game companies a total of 13 billion yuan in sales this year, 39 percent more than last year, as the number of gamers expands by 11 million to 59 million.

Hu Yanping, chief of the government-back ISC's development & communication center, estimated that the total Web population will outnumber that of the US as early as June, as broadband penetration grew.

The US had about 210 million Web users by December, with a Internet penetration rate of more than 70 percent. China's December figure was 13.8 percent.

Among other rapidly growing sectors, online travel registered a 65.4 percent growth over 2006 last year to reach 2.25 billion yuan as more and more travelers are using the Internet to book hotels and air tickets.

Search-related ads generated sales of 2.87 billion yuan last year, a whopping 82.8 percent year-on-year growth. It should continue to grow at 81 percent this year, outpacing growth of online branding ads sales, and hit nine billion yuan in 2009.

China telecoms shares rise on 3G talk

After I redicsovered my China IT Blog, there should be more postings to come. Here is another one from FT.com / Asia-Pacific:

China telecoms shares rise on 3G talk

By Mure Dickie in Beijing and Justine Lau in Hong Kong

Published: December 27 2007 23:20 | Last updated: December 27 2007 23:20

The shares of Chinese telecoms companies listed in Hong Kong surged yesterday on what the industry’s regulator and a government researcher called speculative reports about the long-awaited introduction of 3G mobile services.

Read the full story at FT.com

While Beijing blamed journalists for misreading its telecoms policy signals, the share moves were a sharp reminder of the notorious lack of transparency surrounding regulators’ plans for the world’s biggest telecoms market by number of subscribers.

Shares in Chinese operators and equipment companies climbed by up to 7 per cent after a government statement about wireless technology was interpreted as a step towards the start of 3G services.

Officials have for years been engaged in heated but secret debate about when and how to issue 3G licences to China’s state-controlled but internationally listed operators, leaving observers desperate to know their intentions.

So the State Council, China’s cabinet, attracted attention when it issued an ambiguous statement on Wednesday night saying that it had judged a “new broadband wireless mobile communications network” to be “basically mature and ready for implementation”.

But while some media interpreted the statement as referring to 3G, the Ministry for Information Industry, the regulator, on Thursday said it was actually about development of post-3G wireless data technologies.

“For some institutions to seize the chance to cook up the 3G concept is a fundamental misinterpretation,” the Sina news website quoted a ministry official as saying.

Speculation surrounding the State Council announcement followed local reports that a research body under the powerful National Development and Reform Commission had offered “strong support” for the break-up of number two mobile operator China Unicom, with its network to be split between the two leading fixed-line operators.

But a senior researcher with the NDRC’s Institute of the Economic System and Management condemned suggestions that the report reflected government intentions or policy.

In the absence of greater policy clarity, however, Chinese telecoms stocks are likely to continue to be vulnerable to speculation.

China Telecom, which is the country’s biggest fixed-line operator and seen as likely to benefit most from getting a mobile licence, jumped 6.26 per cent to close at HK$6.28 on Thursday. Smaller fixed-line rival China Netcom rose 3.44 per cent to HK$24.05.

The prospect of stronger competition for dominant wireless operator China Mobile sent its shares down 2.26 per cent to HK$138.6, but Unicom climbed 3.57 per cent to HK$17.98. ZTE, China’s second largest telecoms provider, was up 7.02 per cent.

E-commerce with Chinese characteristics

here comes an interesting article by Jack Ma, originally published in "The Economist: The World":

E-commerce with Chinese characteristics

Jack Ma | HANGZHOU
From The World in 2008 print edition

A million internet entrepreneurs will bloom, predicts the boss of China’s biggest internet company

In 2008 it will become clear that e-commerce will have a much larger impact in China than in the West. China will generate new models of internet business which will spill over to the West. And e-commerce will lead China’s economy into a new era in which innovation, customer focus and responsible business practices—rather than relationships with people in power—become the main determinants of success.

When Western e-commerce was born in 1995, China could only watch with admiration. The thought of clicking a mouse to buy products online—often from complete strangers—seemed an impossibility in China. If you were lucky enough to have a phone line, internet connection was slow and expensive. Banks were inefficient, making payment difficult and time-consuming. Sending a package meant waiting in long lines at the post office. And consumer culture had not yet taken off, hindered by low disposable incomes and an inefficient, state-run retail system.

It was businesses—not consumers—which drove e-commerce’s early years in China. The most agile enterprises began to take notice of the internet as a channel for finding buyers and suppliers. As China entered the World Trade Organisation in 2001, a new “widget economy” was developing along the east coast of China, fertile ground for a multitude of small and medium-sized companies which made a living from trade. The internet proved to be the best way to connect these otherwise fragmented buyers and sellers, replacing trade shows and magazines as the medium of choice for sourcing products.

By 2003 two trends were converging to bring consumer e-commerce out of its long slumber. China’s first generation of internet users had graduated from universities and turned their attention from online games to online shopping. With ever-increasing disposable income and more products than ever to choose from, a healthy consumer culture had developed, and the physical retail infrastructure was unable to keep pace. Second, international e-commerce companies began major investments in China. The ensuing competition between foreign and local companies helped educate the market, attracting more online shoppers.

New modes of business arose to meet the unique needs of China’s consumers. Rating systems and escrow payment services developed to resolve the issue of trust between buyers and sellers. The integration of real-time chat into marketplaces allowed people to get to know each other before making transactions, a necessary function in a society in which relationships are still one of the most important channels through which trust flows.

In 2007 the leading consumer marketplaces counted 50m users and, for the first time, the value of daily online transactions surpassed the cash taken by major physical retailers in China, such as Wal-Mart. Moreover, users of online-payment systems exceeded the number of credit-card holders, showing that China’s e-commerce is taking a very different path from the West’s, which relied heavily on credit cards.

Whereas C2C and B2C models have remained largely distinct in the West, in China they will continue to blend together, with consumers visiting single marketplaces to buy from individuals, small retailers and large retailers alike. Credit systems will take new forms as individuals and companies develop track records, giving banks reliable information to make loans to businesses and consumers.

The most significant trend in 2008 will be the emergence of a new class of entrepreneurs. Niche manufacturers will link up with niche retailers, cutting out middlemen and out-competing larger, less specialised firms. A growing number of entrepreneurs will buy in volume from China on sites like Alibaba and sell to consumers on Western sites such as eBay.

China’s e-commerce is creating economic opportunities in China and around the world. A new class of businesspeople is emerging and the transparent nature of e-commerce means businesses are becoming more responsible as they further integrate into the world economy. This new generation of entrepreneur provides the best chance we have to encourage economic development at a grassroots level in China, and around the world.

Jack Ma: chairman and CEO, Alibaba Group