China Telecom eyes US wireless business

China Telecom is China’s largest carrier, boasting over 600 million subscribers and it looks like they have their eye on the US wireless business now. The company recently mentioned in an interview that they intend to offer Chinese Americans and tourists their services, providing them with a line that’s for the US, and another line that will work in China.

The Chinese carrier has no plans to build its own network, but rather they are interested in leasing capacity from another US carrier, although they declined to mention who that potential partner would be. It will be interesting to see if China Telecom can succeed where others have failed, namely Disney, ESPN and South Korea’s SK Telecom, all of whom tried to push their own wireless service but ended up failing.

The carrier also has their eye on Canada, with plans to expand into North America and eventually building their own network, pending FCC approval of course. For those interested in seeing how this will unfold, or what China Telecom will be able to offer the US market, keep an eye out for them come 2012.