China Mobile may shun local 3G standard
Updated: 2006-2-7 9:39:31
China Mobile (Hong Kong), the world's largest mobile phone carrier by
the number of subscribers, may shun China's locally developed technology
as it rolls out third-generation (3G) services, chief executive Wang
Xiaochu said. Wang said in a meeting with investment bank UBS that China
Mobile is unlikely to pick the Chinese-developed TD-SCDMA standard if it
is rolled out on a standalone basis for 3G, instead of having it bundled
with other types of telecom services. "Management (of China Mobile)
indicated a preference for WCDMA in terms of its choice of 3G
technology," said a UBS research note. China's Ministry of Information
Industry recently announced that TD-SCDMA, developed by the China
Academy of Telecommunications Technology together with Datang Telecom
Technology and Siemens, will be the standard for the country's 3G
development. However, market watchers expect China Mobile, which runs
services on the GSM network, may obtain a WCDMA license for its 3G
service, while new entrants such as China Telecom Corp or China Netcom
Group will get TD-SCDMA licenses, the paper said. WCDMA is a natural
technology upgrade for the GSM standard, which is based on technology
developed in Europe and widely used in China. The deployment of the new
TD-SCDMA standard could therefore require more investment, the paper
said. China is expected to grant 3G licenses this year to China Mobile,
China Telecom and China Netcom. There is speculation that China Unicom,
a smaller mobile carrier, may be split up for other operators amid an
industry restructuring.
Source: http://www.cn-c114.net/newsheadline_html/20062793931-1.Html
Labels: Telecoms Policy
