Other agencies believed to have been involved in the pitch are OMD, Mindshare and the incumbent agency Carat, an undisclosed source close to the company revealed.
China Telecom conducts annual agency reviews according to their company policy. It sent out the invitation in late February.
Reported in January 2010, Carat won the media business after a pitch against Starcom and Mindshare.
The company's main brand in the market is its 3G service E-surfing and yellow-pages based business Best Tone. An undisclosed agency source close to the mobile media industry said that China Telecom has not been as successful as its main rivals. Last year, China Unicom performed well due to the iPhone (and iPad), and China Mobile relies on its huge 2G consumer base.
Reported in local media last week, China Telecom established a new video content company in Shanghai for mobile phone and broadband users as it moves to turn itself into a provider of information services.
The new firm, Tian Yi Shi Xun, located in Pudong, will offer video services to China Telecom's users through various devices ranging from mobile phones, handheld devices to TVs.