ABOUT 44.3 million people access the Internet via cell phones, accounting for 27.3 percent of total Internet users, Xinhua news agency reported today.

Income generated from mobile data services, especially mobile Internet, accounted for nearly 30 percent of all mobile services and about 10,000 companies deal in value-added services, Xi Guohua, Vice Minister of Information Industry, said at a forum today in Beijing.

Mobile Internet search has developed significantly. A total of 39 million people across China use wireless application protocol, Xi said.

The ministry predicted the communications sector is expected to earn 780 billion yuan (US$105 billion) in revenue this year.