China Telecom, the largest Chinese fixed-line telecoms company by customer numbers, is to launch a UK mobile phone business under an agreement with Everything Everywhere, the combined British operations of France Telecom and Deutsche Telekom.
China Telecom wants to win customers outside its domestic market by using existing local networks to roll out its branded services to Chinese residents as well as visitors from China such as students and tourists.
In its first such deal, which will be announced today, China Telecom Europe has signed a strategic partnership to use the network of Everything Everywhere, the largest mobile operator in the UK by customer numbers.