Giants joining hands

Using a TV to surf the Internet isn't a new concept. At the end of the 1990s, Chinese TV makers, influenced by Microsoft's Venus project, developed pioneering 3C products such as interactive TVs and web TVs. These products all failed.

But now, 3C products have gained fertile ground in China. Statistics show that in China, there are more than 600 million fixed line telephone subscribers and a home appliance market of 400 million consumers. The number of Internet users has reached 103 million and 53 million access the Internet through broadband. Meanwhile, content on the Internet and TV programs has become increasingly diversified. Equipment and technology of TV production have also improved.

In July 2003, domestic home appliance giants Hisense, TCL and Konka, and IT conglomerates Lenovo and Great Wall Group, set up the Intelligent Grouping and Resources Sharing Standard. The country approved it in June 2005, making it the first technological standard for the 3C industry.

All these factors have contributed to providing the best basic conditions to promote the coming of the 3C era. However, there have been different attitudes toward 3C. Some people still think 3C hasn't left the laboratory, although the concept has existed in China for five years. This is mainly because it's still unclear whether consumers, restricted by traditional habits, would actually use TVs to listen to music or use personal computers to receive TV programs. 3C products that don't fit consumer habits are difficult to sell.

Trans-sector joint sales promoted by Changhong and China Telecom inaugurated a new model for cooperation between TV maker and telecom operator in the information era.

Zhao Yong, Chairman of Changhong's Board of Directors, said that traditional home appliance makers and consumers are in a loose relationship of buying and selling, which will end when a color TV is sold to a consumer.

With the development of information technology, more and more network operators and content providers are taking the business model of uninterrupted relations: When a consumer buys a mobile phone, it's just the beginning of a series of purchases. Therefore, network operators are hoping to increase the number of users by lowering the threshold through cheaper prices or leases.

"A combination of TV and telecom can not only enhance our uninterrupted businesses, but also increase the number of Telecom users through the platform of TV," Zhao said.