China will issue licences for high-speed third-generation wireless services and merge China Unicom and Netcom, two of its four biggest sector players, reorganising the industry into three full-service telecoms giants.

The trio of new operators are described below as envisioned, and will go head-to-head in everything from multimedia content to basic fixed-line services.

CHINA MOBILE-RAILCOM

Users: 400 million mobile, 21 million fixed-line.

What's happening: The world's top wireless provider will take over Railcom.

What's next: Expected to build a TD-SCDMA (Time Division Synchronous Code Division Multiple Access) network.

CHINA UNICOM-NETCOM

Users: 125 million GSM mobile, 109 million fixed-line users.

What's happening: Unicom, the smaller of the country's two wireless players, will merge with Netcom.

What's next: Expected to build a WCDMA 3G network.

CHINA TELECOM

Users: 43 million CDMA mobile, 216 million fixed-line.

What's happening: The firm will buy Unicom's CDMA network.

What's next: Touted to build a CDMA2000 network.

Source: Reuters