Sina yesterday carried a statement from the China Broadband Wireless IP Standard Group reinforcing the determination to promote a unique wireless technology standard nationwide in order to protect information security.

From June 1, only wireless modems supporting a standard designed by the Group, the industry standard body authorized by the Ministry of Information Industries, will be able to communicate with Chinese telecom operators.

Some US firms have already threatened to stop supplying certain chips to the country unless it follows the international standard, and analysts see the timing of this statement as possibly China's answer to such threats. "We won't care what those US companies do because many wireless LAN equipment makers are available in Europe and Taiwan. They won't give up the huge potential market in the Chinese mainland," said Liu Chaoyang, the spokesman of the Group.

Currently, an international wireless LAN standard is still being used in China but the government declared at the end of 2003 that the country will use its own standard with additional technology to improve information security.