Little Smart blooming in suburbs
17/7/2003 15:02
Shanghai Telecom Co's citywide wireless phone service Little Smart is
spreading to seven suburban districts and part of Baoshan, but may not enter the
downtown area in the near future, today's Shanghai Morning Post reported, citing
close sources from the company.
Starting early this month, people can enjoy
the phone service in areas of these dstricts out of the Outer Ring Road, a
separate line between city's downtown and suburban areas, the report said.
In May, when Shanghai Telecom launched the Little Smart service on a trial
basis, the service was avail be only in two districts of Songjiang and
Fengxian.
The five additional districts include Jiading, Nanhui, Qingpu,
Jinshan and Chongming.
However, Shanghai Telecom remains cautious about
expanding the service to downtown area and doesn't plan to introduce it to
downtown Shanghai, the Shanghai Morning Post report said.
In Baoshan, a
downtown district spanning to both sides of the Outer Ring Road for example, the
service is now availed only in its territory out of the road, the same report
said.
If the service is expanded to the area within the road, a sign may be
taken that Shanghai Telecom starts to expand the service to downtown area, the
report said.
Analysts described the hesitation as a result of the high cost
and technical problems to set base stations for the Little Smart network. A
station of this network covers around 500 meters around
it.
Jane Chen / Shanghai Daily news
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