China Netcom has posted notices in each of its business halls in Beijing telling consumers that due to a failure within its billing and collection system, the deadline for paying fixed phone fees would be postponed from Feb 25 until March 10.

A China Netcom spokesperson told local media that the problem was mainly caused by payment congestion after the Spring Festival holiday.

The company is busy solving the problem, but it is yet unknown whether it will be settled by February 25.

Since neither China Netcom nor the banks who are commissioned to collect fees have gave timely explanation to users after the failure occurred, some online users guessed that the problem was caused by disputes between China Netcom and the banks, while others believed the system had been attacked by a virus. So far, the company has denied both claims.