HONG KONG:  China Telecom,  the smallest of China's three mobile carriers, said on Monday that it would spend the same or more than 2009 on handset subsidies for its new mobile service.

The company will spend more than 10 billion yuan ($1.46 billion) on handset subsidies this year, versus 10.1 billion yuan in 2009, company officials said at a media briefing to discuss China Telecom's 2009 results.

China Telecom entered the mobile business last year, receiving a license to operate mobile service following a broader government-led restructuring of China's telecoms sector.

Since then, the company has aggressively promoted its wireless service, doubling its subscriber base to more than 56 million in its first year.