China Unicom and China Telecom are offering olive branches to regulators in an attempt to close an antitrust probe into their internet access pricing practices.
The duo has requested the investigation be suspended and acknowledge there is room to improve their current systems for leasing lines to internet service providers. Internal reviews have flagged wide variations in pricing, the pair reveal in separate statements.
Both also agree to implement all measures suggested by the National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC) to improve services, acknowledging there is also room to improve the quality of interconnection in the backbone.
The antitrust arm of China's NDRC launched an investigation into the operators' broadband access businesses last month. At the time, an NDRC deputy director accused the operators of using their dominant market position to charge higher access prices to competitors and favor those not in competition with them.
According to the Commission, China Unicom and China Telecom control two-thirds of the nation's China's broadband access market.