China Telecom shut down itsonline application store during the first day of online beta testing on Sept. 1, due to an unanticipated level of industry attention and Web traffic, according to an announcement made by China Telecom's subsidiary in Sichuan on the same day.
"We are still conducting online tests of the eSurfing Space Application Market site, which is still not fully developed in many aspects. Due to the premature condition of the Web site, the app market development team has decided to limit site access," a China Telecom source close to the situation, who wished to remain anonymous, said.
According to the source, the online application store currently has 11 types of applications including games and mobile themes, and those related to recreation, lifestyle, reading, messaging, business, travel, education, finance and others.
The official launch date of the Web site has still not been finalized, the source said.
Interfax reported on Aug. 31 that the app market, built by Sichuan Telecom in cooperation with Huawei Technologies Co. Ltd., had completed offline tests and would initiate online beta testing in the beginning of September.
China Mobile's Mobile Market online application store was relaunched on Aug. 21 after experiencing several delays of its own. The site was operational for short periods of time on July 3 and Aug. 11, while it underwent internal testing, but was promptly shut down. The operator officially announced the launch of the store on Aug. 17, though the site was shut down a third time on Aug. 18 due to technical difficulties.
Source:INTERFAX