China Mobile will upgrade its Wi-Fi network to cover 35 million square meters of buildings in Shanghai, including airports, railway stations and university campuses by 2011, the telco said yesterday.

It will also provide three hours of free Wi-Fi services each month to 20 million users, according to its Shanghai branch. To enjoy the free Wi-Fi services for three hours until July, Shanghai Mobile's users need to open an account by sending KTWLAN to 10086.

Shanghai Mobile will invest heavily to build Wi-Fi hot spots in the buildings to serve an expected 70 million people by 2011. The new Wi-Fi sites include campuses of Fudan and Jiao Tong universities, government bureaus, hospitals, libraries and public transport centers. Users now enjoy Shanghai Mobile's Wi-Fi services in all Starbucks stores, Pudong airport and the two railway stations.

Users can access China Mobile's mobile broadband services through laptops, tablet computers like iPad, and Wi-Fi capable phones, it said.

In order to cement its market position and be competitive, China Mobile has to expand its Wi-Fi network as it uses the TD-SCDMA 3G technology, which is not so commercially mature as China Unicom's WCDMA and China Telecom's CDMA 2000.

China Mobile is also testing 4G technology in Shanghai in Lujiazui area in Pudong, People's Square and Xujiahui area in Xuhui District.