BEIJING—China Unicom, which will launch commercial operations of its CDMA network early next year, hopes average revenue per user (ARPU) will be more than the 92 yuan (US$11.11) generated on its existing GSM network. ARPU dropped 25.5 percent in the first six months of the year from 124.3 yuan (US$15) to 92.5 yuan (US$11.18).
The Hong Kong-listed arm China Unicom will pay 74.6 yuan (US$9) per subscriber per quarter to lease the CDMA network from its parent company China United Telecommunications.
The company will not offer prepaid packages or the customary 10-percent discount compared with rival China Mobile that it offers on its GSM network. China Unicom is clearly targeting high-end users who are not looking for price discounts. The company expects to sign up 2 million users in the first quarter of next year.
