Subject: [NEXTEL-1] Trend: China expected to award 3G licenses for three different standards

From: Marcel <[email-masked]>
Date: Mon, 10 Feb 2003 17:15:53 -0500

Trend: China expected to award 3G licenses for three different standards

The Chinese government later this year is expected to award 3G licenses for three
different next-generation standards. According to reports in the Japanese newspaper
Nihon Keizai Shimbun, Chinese authorities will issue four 3G licenses covering spectrum
for
networks using WCDMA, CDMA2000, and TD-SCDMA, China's new standard for 3G (which
is being pushed by the Chinese government). In most cases, the license winners will be
free to chose the network standard for their licensed spectrum. China's leading carriers,
China Mobile and China Unicom, are expected to take two of the licenses, while China's
two fixed-line telecoms, China Telecom and China Netcom, are expected to take the
other two licenses. China Telecom is already making an aggressive push for wireless
subscribers.

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  China Opts For 3G Triple Play

  (10/02/2003, BWCS staff) The Chinese government is expected
  to award 3G licences later this year which will support three
  different next-generation standards. According to reports in the
  Japanese business newspaper Nihon Keizai Shimbun, the Chinese
  authorities will issue four 3G licences covering spectrum able to
  support the W-CDMA, cdma2000 and TD-SCDMA standards.
  Wherever possible the winning licensees will be able choose
  which standard to deploy.

  It is almost certain that the incumbent mobile operators China
  Mobile and China Unicom will take two of the concessions, while
  it is expected that fixed line operators China Telecom and China
  Netcom will take the other two licences. China Telecom is already
  making an aggressive unofficial play for mobile subscribers.

  In January 2002 the Chinese government launched field trials of
  all three next-generation technologies in an effort to judge their
  relative merits. The trials have also been used to develop the
  interoperability between the three standards. The different paths
  to 3G chosen by China’s main trading partners has left the
  government with a dilemma. W-CDMA has been adopted across
  Europe, while cdma2000 has established itself in South Korea and
  both standards are being used in the US and Japan.

  Meanwhile, China is keen to support its own home-grown
  standard, TD-SCDMA, which has been developed by Siemens and
  China’s Datang Telecommunications Technology & Industry
  Group. TD-SCDMA is thought to be more cost-effective to deploy
  in China’s densely population cities than either of the rival
  technologies.

  The government had been expected to make a decision on 3G
  licensing back in March 2001. Its delay has brought increasing
  problems for China’s cellular operators as they struggle to support
  a growing number of subscribers using increasingly crowded
  frequencies. By the end of 2002 China was home to more than
  200 million mobile subscribers.

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