telecom - New merger rumors

New rumors about a possible set of mergers among six domestic Chinese telecommunication carriers have emerged, referring to articles in state media. The merger is supposed to facilitate the roll-out of the 3G technology without creating an competing and overlapping network.
Such a more - denied by some of the key players - would go very much against the legacy of former prime minister Zhu Rongji, who has been splitting former quasi-monopolist China Telecom two times to increase competition, quality and destroy this former powerblock, led by former minister of the Information Industry Wu Jichuan.
It seems unlikely, but not impossible.