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The State Council said the government will
invest more than 430 billion yuan ($69.3 billion) this year on
network construction, with at least another 700 billion yuan
($112.8 billion) spent over the following two years.
The goal is to accelerate the development of fiber optic
broadband and high speed 4G mobile networks, the governing body
said on its website.
China ranked 82nd in the world for average Internet connection
speed, slower than Malaysia, Thailand and Taiwan, according to
cloud computing services provider Akamai's State of the Internet
report for the fourth quarter of 2014.
Improving that standing is crucial for the world's second
largest economy, which is experiencing the slowest growth in
decades and is seeking to diversify away from low-tech
manufacturing and development.
On Tuesday, China unveiled a vision for the next stage of its
economic ascent, moving from low-tech manufacturing to advanced
industry in areas such as space, e-commerce, green energy and
bioengineering by 2025.
Premier Li Keqiang has also already identified the Internet and
technology as vital catalysts for the shift towards an economy
centered around services.
China's three state-owned wireless carriers are also on board.
Last week, China Mobile Ltd, China Unicom (Hong Kong) Ltd and
China Telecom Corp Ltd said they would cut mobile data prices
and boost data speeds this year, potentially spurring a mass
migration of customers to more lucrative 4G contracts.
(Reporting by Paul Carsten; Editing by Miral Fahmy)
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