China Unicom and Telefonica will establish a joint venture named Smart Steps Digital Technology Co., Ltd for big data services.

China Unicom will hold a 55% stake in the joint venture while Telefonica will hold the remaining 45%. They will operate and manage the joint venture in accordance with the market mechanism. Total investment in the venture was not released.

Combining China Unicom's basic communications network and market experience with Telefonica's technologies in big data services, the new joint venture will provide big data application services in China. Smart Steps Digital Technology will rapidly provide valuable location and tracking services to customers..

China Unicom and Telefonica said that "smart step" has years of successful commercial operation experience in the European and Latin American markets. It features precise location, standardized product, and scene scale application. This business is expected to be applied to traffic operation and construction, city planning, tourism management, public security, financial risk control, commercial real estate and retail analysis, business consulting, and macro statistics.