State-owned Shanghai Media Group (SMG) is to launch China's first Internet Protocol Television (IPTV) service by the end of June, according to a company official.

China's State Administration of Radio Film and Television (SARFT) gave SMG a nationwide IPTV license and a license to broadcast television programs to mobile phones two months ago, the top media regulator said Monday in a statement posted on its Web site.

"I think (the approval) implies that China has started the business of running TV programs on telecom broadband and mobile phone handsets," said a SMG senior executive.

China has about 26.3 million broadband Internet customers, a figure analysts expect to climb to about 100 million in 2008. China's mobile phone users surpassed 349 million in March.

SMG officials also said SMG had been making preparations to offer IPTV programs for over two years with support from SARFT.

"We are now in talks with telecom operators to work together to offer such services," an official said.

It would take a long time for SMG to offer IPTV services nationwide, as telecom networks were not ready to offer the service in every region, the official added.

SMG was the first of several television companies to start trial broadcasts of television programs on 2.5G mobile phone handsets in February.