China expects nationwide broadband by 2020

BEIJING - China will strive to complete broadband coverage of both urban and rural areas by 2020, The State Council, China's cabinet, announced Saturday.

The State Council elevated national broadband development as as a national strategy and announced a implementation timetable for its development over the coming eight years.

The strategy aims to achieve WiFi coverage in key public urban areas by 2013 and fixed broadband coverage for half of Chinese households by 2015, the announcement said.

Families in some developed cities will enjoy a broadband speed of one gigabits per second in 2020, the announcement added.

The strategy will be carried out in three phases. Fiber optic networks and 3G mobile coverage will be facilitated in 2013 while broadband converage will be expanded from 2014 to 2015. Broadband network and technology updates will be the key task from 2016 to 2020.

A policy on support for information products and services was released on August 14 in a bid to boost domestic demand and fuel economic growth.