SATELLITE & CABLE: Cable investment policy delayed again as turf war continues in China

<p>Regulations governing investments in China's cable television </p><p>network are set to be released by the end of this year; however, the </p><p>Ministry of Information Industry (MII) and State Administration of </p><p>Radio, Film and TV (SARFT) are fighting over which of them will be in </p><p>charge. </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>MII is in charge of everything related to postal and telecommunication </p><p>matters, while SARFT regulates the broadcast industry, but convergence </p><p>of services has clouded the issue. </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>The cable TV industry is often referred to as a secondary infrastructure </p><p>network, which attracts substantial investment because it is seen as </p><p>having the potential to bring together television, Internet and </p><p>telephony services through the use of convergence technology. </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>There are currently about 90 million cable subscribers in China and </p><p>there are plans for a national cable network. </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>SARFT's information network centre director-general Chen Xiaoning </p><p>estimated 120 million cable subscribers would be hooked up to the </p><p>network by the end of the restructuring process in 2001. </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>However, a temporary ban on new cable investment was ordered by the </p><p>central government because of disputes between cable and telecom </p><p>operators last year. </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>The government recently issued a directive which specified that telecom </p><p>operators should not get involved in the radio and television business </p><p>and that radio and TV companies should not become involved in the </p><p>telecom business. This has had the temporary effect of halting moves to </p><p>converge telecommunication and television services. </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>At the same time, however, MII and SARFT are working on new regulations </p><p>to be issued by the end of this year. </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>Meanwhile, analysts speculated that although China is all but assured of </p><p>being a WTO member, SARFT will likely prohibit foreign ownership. </p><p><BR><BR> </p>