China would soon launch a new facility for people to access TV, Internet and mobile phone through a single device combining broadcasting and telecommunication technologies.
Users will be able to access all the three through a single device, an official statement said.
A pilot scheme to integrate the three systems would be launched in 11 Chinese cities including Beijing and Shanghai. However, the statement gave no schedule and did not elaborate on the development of the trial programme.
The programme, known as "three networks integration" in Chinese, aims to make the three systems compatible and allow users to make telephone calls, surf the Internet and watch television through only one cable or wireless entrance, official Xinhua news agency reported.
Currently, TV, telecom and Internet networks are separated in China, and different operators provide access to cable TV, telecommunications and the Internet.
The State Council, China's Cabinet, said in January that the program would be accelerated through pilot projects from 2010 to 2012, focusing on trials connecting broadcasting and telecommunication networks.
It vowed to achieve comprehensive integration by 2015. China first proposed the program in 1998.But it was delayed because of conflicts of interest between different administrators and service operators, said Wu Jichuan, previously minister at the information industry ministry, the predecessor of the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology (MIIT).
In China, the State Administration of Radio, Film and Television regulates radio and TV while the MIIT is responsible for telecoms and Internet industries.
The programme will boost investment and consumption by 668 billion yuan ($98.38 billion) over the next three years, said Wu Hequan, vice president of the Chinese Academy of Engineering.
