September 22 -- The Shanghai branch of China United Network Communications (600050, 0762.HK) announced yesterday that it will invest 12 billion yuan on fixed assets over the next three years in order to develop fiber-optic networks in urban areas, and to roll out the next generation of broadband wireless networks, reports Oriental Morning Post.

China Unicom operates the most mature 3G technology in China, the WCDMA network. It started commercial use of the HSPA+ in 56 cities throughout the country in May, improving its data transfer speeds from 7.2Mbps to 21.6Mbps.

According to the company's plan, Shanghai will have a HSPA+ network with speeds of 42Mbps over the next three years.

At present, the HSPA+ network has covered most of the central parts of Shanghai, with down-link speeds of 21Mbps. The current peak rate is seven times that of its competitors.

The deputy general manager of Shanghai Unicom, Shen Hongbo, said the company will add 5,000 base stations over the next three years to its existing 8,000. Shanghai Unicom currently has 2,000 Wi-Fi hotspots, and the number will be increased to 10,000.

Shannghai Unicom will start deploying IPv6 over the next three years.