A RISING swell of online public opinion shows that consumers won't easily let off China Telecom (0728. HK) and China Unicom (600050. SH), which are accused of Internet access monopoly, although they have pledged to raise broadband speeds and lower charges.

Earlier this month, the duo applied to the country's price regulator for a suspension of the monopoly investigation which began in November, saying they had recognized problems and promised to improve their services.

China Telecom vowed to cut broadband charges by 35 percent in the next five years while Unicom agreed to lower broadband service costs without specifying how and when.

"Is 35 percent enough? To what extent should prices be lowered? They need to inform us of their costs and profits," said Zhu Zixi, a white-collar worker in Beijing.

Yang Fei, who keeps his computer connected to the Internet 20 hours a day, was also deeply concerned. "The two companies didn't provide specific measures but used ambiguous words on breaking the monopoly. I'm afraid they can hardly keep their promises, and consumers will get hurt," he said.

Their comments are consistent with millions of Chinese Internet users' jitters that the nation's first anti-trust probe would end prematurely based on the two telcos' unenforceable promises, while eradication of monopoly is also not guaranteed.