PSTN and VoIP get equal time in China

The public switched telephone network and VoIP are neck and neck in China. According to a report accessed by the VoIP Monitor, call durations on both systems were virtually the same, but VoIP is growing faster. VoIP accounted for more than 43 percent of the country's long distance calls last year, and is expected to exceed PSTN and mobile in the next two or three years, according to analysis conducted by Reporterlinker.com.

The data is based on official state information, but also believed to be a hefty black market trade in international calling that grew 30 percent, year over year, from 2003 to 2006, when it reached a total of 550 million minutes.

The coverage notes that only a handful of telecoms have the official 'OK' from state regulators to run VoIP operations, but World Trade Organization rules are set to go into effect, and foreign investment is expected to follow. One might do well to chat with Mattel first.

For More: 
- VoIP Monitor's summary of the report is available here