China Telecom is expected to purchase 50 million CDMA handsets in 2009, which includes 20 million 3G phones.

China Telecom is expected to purchase 50 million CDMA handsets in 2009, which includes 20 million 3G phones. China Telecom is scheduled to launch 3G wireless broadband services in 324 cities within the first six months of 2009 and reportedly invest $11.70 billion in CDMA network upgradation and expansion in the next three years. The company expects to increase its CDMA user base to 100 million from 28 million. China Telecom launched the first round of bidding for 3G handsets in end-2008 and recently began its 3G data card procurement process. The operator expects to sell an average of 50,000 CDMA handsets per day in 2009.