China's Ministry of Industry and Information Technology (MIIT) says on Tuesday that it will allow private capital into the country's broadband sector to promote competition.
On April 14, Chinese Premier Li Keqiang called for cheaper and faster Internet for China when he was discussing the country's economic performance for the first quarter.
In response, the MIIT vowed to carry forward the "Broadband China" strategy this year, as well as to accelerate 4G construction in the country.
Wen Ku, Director of the Technology Division of MIIT, said that market supply shortage is one of the major reasons of the country's high internet fees.
Statistics from the MIIT show that there has been a 60-percent cut in mobile traffic charges and a 30-percent cut in fixed broadband fees in 2014, compared to 2011.
However, the price drop is far from enough to satisfy the large population of internet users in China.
Wen Ku says that MIIT has been working on various strategies to lower prices and boost connection speeds for China's internet users.
The ministry will expand investment into the broadband sector, including an attempt to attract more private capital into the communications market and allow more private companies into China's broadband sector, which will break the monopoly and eventually bring down internet fees. The ministry will also encourage companies in the sector to construct a better sharing platform, so as to reduce their respective operation fees.
The possibility of private capital entering China's broadband market has already attracted hundreds of private enterprises in the country.
MIIT also vows to work on infrastructure construction to secure faster average internet connection speed. For fixed line broadband, the ministry claims it will speed up the process to substitute the current ADSL speed with the All Optical Network, or AON. For mobile traffic connection, China will attempt to boost its 4G network coverage, which first came to the country in 2014.
