At the P&T/Expo Comm 2008 currently underway in Beijing, China Telecom (NYSE: CHA; 0728.HK) announced that it has basically completed preparations for the upgrade of its CDMA networks to CDMA2000, and plans to begin internal testing in Beijing by the end of the year.

CDMA2000 equipment for the Beijing network is entirely provided by Huawei and other domestic brands. Most CDMA handsets in use already have CDMA2000 functionality, meaning that subscribers won't have to purchase new handsets after the upgrade.

Source:Beijing Daily