Mobile telephony holds the key to China being able to leap frog the long lead-time which will otherwise be required for this vast country to install the wired infrastructure necessary for even the most simple telecommunications capability. The major potential for growth lies in China's large east coast cities many of which are aspiring to become international commerce centers, mobile phones use here is increasing at a very rapid rate. Despite the low penetration rate, China's fixed and mobile networks are among the worlds largest in terms of both scale and subscriber base. Mobile telephony is also contributing to a dramatic fall in over all telecommunications cost for both domestic and business users. Increased use of phones will produce a changing relationship between customer and carrier. Where as in the past monopolistic carriers dictated prices and services to the customer, customers in the future will chose a wide variety of services from several fiercely competing companies. Increased competition will drive down prices and Chinese business will be increasingly competitive on the international scale.
