China announces investment in broadband infrastructure

China has confirmed it is making a large investment in broadband infrastructure to enable more of its citizens to access the internet.

Around half of people living in the country are not currently able to go online, with the State Council claiming the move will also result in fees being cut.

China has not revealed how much money is being invested into its broadband infrastructure, but Premier Li Keqiang has called for the country's telecoms companies to reduce their prices.

"China has more cell-phone users than any other country, but its internet service speed ranks below 80th in the world due to underdeveloped information infrastructure," the premier said.

He added that "speeding up the construction of information infrastructure will boost investment and support" in China.

The premier also pointed out that business broadband is vital to be able to foster "mass innovation" across the country.

Mr Li suggested urban broadband speeds should be increased by telecoms firms by around 40 per cent, while also calling for the companies to cut their prices.

Only 47.9 per cent of Chinese people had access to the internet last year, compared to 75 per cent of people in the United States and 73 per cent of UK households.

Improving China's broadband infrastructure is likely to be a challenge as so much of the country is extremely rural, with officials having previously earmarked around two trillion yuan (£204 billion) to be spent on the project by 2020. It is not known if extra money is now being put into China's broadband.

China is also aiming to improve competition in its telecoms sector, with the State Council revealing a pilot scheme for broadband services will be launched later in the year.

"There is still not enough competition, which has led to telecoms fees being relatively high while there is still a lot of room to improve the quality of service," a statement said.