Feb. 16, 2007 (China Knowledge) – China Netcom <906> <CN> has expressed interest in acquiring the GSM mobile network of China Unicom through a share swap, reported South China Morning Post.

It is reported that Netcom might be awarded a European-based WCDMA third-generation mobile-telephone licence, and acquiring the 2G network from China Unicom would give China Netcom a good base for building up its 3G business.

China Unicom <762> <CHU> said subscribers to its global system for its mobile GSM service rose to 106.88 million at the end of January from 105.87 million at end-December.

The mainland government is expected to issue at least three licences for 3G networks this year, with two to be based on international technologies already in use overseas and one on the country's home-grown TD-SCDMA standard.