China Telecom and China Unicom are being investigated by authorities over allegedly abusing the monopoly they enjoy in the internet service market. The two companies could face penalties of 1 to 10 percent of 2010 internet services revenue, which would translate into billions of yuan - and more specifically, it would be for using their advantage to prevent smaller players from entering the market.
中国电信和中国联通被爆因滥用它们在互联网服务市场享有的垄断权而被有关部门调查。这两家公司可能面临其2010年互联网服务收入的1%至10%的处罚，转化为人民币是数十亿——更确切来说，这将是利用它们自身的优势，阻止更小规模的经营者进入这个市场。
Li Qing, an official from China’s top economic planner says the authorities launched the investigation right after it got complaint from consumers. The investigation is to see whether China Telecom and China Unicom abuse their leading position in the market to prevent other companies from providing access to the Internet.
中国顶级经济策划人李青表示，在接到消费者投诉之后，有关部门立刻开展调查。调查的内容是要了解中国电信和中国联通是否滥用它们在市场上的支配地位阻碍其它公司提供互联网接入。
Li Qing said: "Now we know the two companies own two thirds of the market, meaning they can dominate it. Under this circumstance, they can offer different prices to different clients. That’s price discrimination."
李青透露：“现在我们知道两家公司拥有三分之二的市场份额，意味着它们可以支配市场。在这种情况下，它们对不同客户提供不同价格。这就是价格歧视。”
Li also says, data from the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology indicates the two companies didn’t provide full services to their customers. That means users would have to pay more to get the full package.
李青还称，来自工业和信息化部的数据显示，这两家公司没有为它们的客户提供全部服务。这就意味着用户要获得全部服务必须交更多的钱。
Analysts say if there’s effective competition in the market, the nation’s cyber population could save as much as 30 percent in online fees. That would amount to more than 10 billion yuan, or about 1.6 billion US dollars.
分析学家表示，如果市场上存在有效竞争，国家的网民可以节省多达30%的网费。这个数目共计100多亿元，约合16亿美元。
Li Qing said: "If malpractice is found, their fine could be equivalent to 1 to 10 percent of their revenue last year. China Telecom’s turnover to providing Internet access was about 50 billion yuan, China Unicom’s similar business turnover was around 30 billion yuan."
李青表示：“如果不法行为成立，它们将被处以上相当于上一年度营业额的1%-10%的罚款。中国电信提供互联网接入的营业额约为500亿元，中国联通的相似业务的营业额约为300亿元。”
The two companies have no comment so far.
目前为止，这两家公司都没有发表评论。