JD.com among first mobile virtual network operators

JD.com, one of China's leading direct B2C platforms, announced on Thursday that it has got a license to be one of China's first mobile virtual network operators.

People walk by JD.com's booth on China Beijing International Fair for Trade In Services on June 1, 2013. [Photo/Asianewsphoto]

License-holding companies will be allowed to run basic telecom businesses by renting infrastructure from telecom operators or even through the Internet.

According to a press release from JD.com, the company has inked a strategic partnership agreement with both China Unicom and China Telecom and it is eager to provide more innovative and tailor-made telecom services to clients in the future.

Zhao Guoqing, vice-chairman of JD.com, said that the company will build up its own special telecom services, including voice services, short messages and mobile data packages.

JD.com has more than 140 million registered users. Most of them are aged between 23 and 45, a key segment of the mobile phone market in China. In addition, JD.com has experience cooperating with the three major telecom operators in China as the largest mobile phone retailer in the country, the company said.

Eleven licenses for mobile virtual network operators were issued to private companies by the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology on Thursday, Chinese media reported.