China's Ministry of Industry and Information Technology plans to speed up the liberalization of the telecommunications sector by opening the broadband internet business to private capital, with a pilot program set to be launched by the end of this year.

The liberalization will break the monopoly of the country's three leading telecommunications operators. Sources stated that the ministry was likely to begin accepting applications from private companies during the second half of this year after a pilot plan is complete.

The private sector is expected to launch operations during the second quarter of 2015.

At present, Chinese internet users can only get internet services provided by China Mobile, China Unicom and China Telecom, but they will have more choices after the liberalization, the Beijing-based Economic Information Daily states.

President of the China Academy of Telecommunication Research at the ministry, Cao Shumin said that the broadband internet business was one of the major areas in which the ministry wants to facilitate growth with the entry of private funds.

The monopoly seen in China's telecommunications sector has been the focus of China's bilateral negotiations with the United States, Australia, South Korea and Japan. Under the World Trade Organization's framework, negotiations for further opening up China's telecommunications services sector are set to be reopened.

Allowing competitors from the private sector, therefore, is a pressing issue.

China Telecom general manager Yang Jie said that the entry of private funds could also help ease the financial pressure on the state's three major telecommunication firms.

Private firms will reap considerable profits if they operate their businesses properly, which would benefit users too, he added.