China Mobile to begin commercial 4G testing in 7 cities
China Mobile Ltd. will reportedly start large-scale commercial testing of its fourth-generation service in seven cities by the second quarter of 2012.
As per the company’s previous statement, it would start testing the technology, called TD-LTE, in six cities, with help from the country’s Ministry of Industry & Information Technology. An MIIT official stated in January that the tests would last about 1.5 years.
According to reports, data cards using the TD-LTE technology that connect laptops to the internet will be available as early as the second half of 2012.
25 million apps downloaded in 1H’10
China Mobile Ltd. has revealed that 6.5 million of its customers downloaded 25 million applications in the first half of 2010. The comment was made by China Mobile’s Chief Executive Officer Li Yue at the Mobile Asia Congress in Hong Kong.
According to Li, with the voice market becoming more saturated, digital services will be the source for high growth. Mobile devices will be the most important devices for people to receive information.
The mobile Internet is becoming our most important development, he added, describing it as a US$10 billion opportunity. China Mobile generated 29.5% of its mobile revenue from value-added services that is, non-SMS data services in the first half of 2010, up from 28.1% during the same period in 2009.
S. Korea’s KT joins hands with China’s No. 1 Telecom Carrier
KT Corp., South Korea’s top fixed-line operator and No. 2 mobile carrier, said Wednesday it signed a strategic alliance deal with China’s largest mobile carrier China Mobile Ltd to cooperate on mobile service business in the Northeast Asian region.
Under the deal, KT and China Mobile Ltd. will collaborate in several areas, including wireless-fidelity (Wi-Fi), mobile application development, smartphones and green information technology, KT said.
“The tie-up with China Mobile will serve as the critical bridge among South Korea, China and Japan,” KT’s chief executive officer Lee Suk-chae said after a signing ceremony.
China Mobile is one of the world’s largest mobile carrier with its 522 million subscribers taking up 70 percent of the Chinese market as of 2009.
KT has worked to strengthen its ties with Asia’s mobile carriers to counter the rapidly changing mobile service domain. In 2006, the telecom giant sealed a deal with Japan’s NTT DoCoMo Inc. for strategic cooperation.
Hong Kong Operators Planning combined LTE Network
If reports are to be believed, Hong Kong’s PCCW is close to announce plans to build a new wireless network as a joint-venture with rival network, Hutchison Telecommunications.
As per reports, citing an interview with PCCW Managing Director, Alex Arena, details about the 4G network are expected to be announced within a few weeks.
The move would build on the strategy by Hong Kong’s richest family to fend off competition from China Mobile Ltd. and Australia’s Telstra Corp. in offering wireless services for smartphones such as Apple Inc.’s iPhone. PCCW and Hutchison would follow companies including Vodafone Group Plc and Telefonica SA in sharing networks to save costs.
According to Tucker Grinnan, head of Asian telecommunications research at HSBC Holdings Plc in Hong Kong, there is a broader trend globally for carriers to share networks. Companies focus less on network coverage and focus more on services and branding.
A joint-venture between PCCW and Hutchison Telecommunications won a license to offer LTE services in Hong Kong during a government auction last January. The planned network would share infrastructure, but would retail products to customers under their existing network brand names.
China Unicom Sells $1.84 Billion of Convertible Bonds to expand 3G Network
A unit of China Unicom (Hong Kong) Ltd. has sold US$1.84 billion worth of convertible bonds maturing in 2015 as the company is planning to invest it in expanding its 3G network.
According to a regulatory filing, the notes carry a 0.75% annual coupon and can be exchanged for shares when China Unicom stock raises to US$2.04, about 36% more than yesterday’s closing price. Funds will be used for working capital and general corporate purposes.
The sale comes as China Unicom faces growing competition from rival operators China Mobile Ltd. and China Telecom Corp. in adding subscribers to its 3G services, which are more expensive but offer faster data speeds than widely used 2G services.
According to Paul Wuh, an analyst at Samsung Securities Co. in Hong Kong, The Company expected them to raise debt for all these capital expenditures they are doing. They won’t turn free cash flow positive until the end of next year, and they will need debt to fund their capital expenditures until then.
The bonds were issued by a Unicom unit called Billion Express Investments Ltd.
According to Sophia Tso, a Hong Kong-based spokeswoman for Unicom, this will provide strong capital support for the development of our 3G and broadband businesses.
Goldman Sachs Group Inc, China International Capital Corp Ltd and Nomura Holdings Inc arranged the convertible bond sale. The issuer and investors both have choice to redeem the notes after three years.
Vodafone to vend China Mobile stake: Report
If reports are to be believed, Vodafone Group Plc is planning to sell its share in China Mobile Ltd. to raise more than US$6.2 billion.
Vodafone’s chief executive Vittorio Cola has approved the deal. The company favors the China sale over removals of its part-owned assets in France and United States as the only likely buyer in those countries is the controlling shareholder, which would lower the likely price.
Vodafone, which has a market value of US$124.902 billion, is dedicated to reform its group of assets to perk up its share price.
China Unicom Net profit drops by 62%
China Unicom (Hong Kong) Ltd. revealed its second quarter 2010 net profit knock down 62% compared to last year contributed by the costs of installing its 3G network and subsidizing handsets cut into earnings.
The China’s telecommunications market is facing a strong competition, since the government awarded licenses for third-generation mobile services to China Unicom, China Mobile Ltd. and China Telecom Corp. in the beginning of last year. The carrier is seeking to grab the attention of its customers with handset offers by bidding into the 3G services to boost their revenue.
According to the China Unicom, the net profits plunged to US$371.4 million compared to last year. Revenues reached US$12.07 billion, representing an increase of 7.6% over the same period last year. Company’s selling and marketing expenses grew to 17% to US$1.668 billion from US$ 1.420 billion year earlier. The company aspires to uphold its average revenue per 3G user at more than US$ 14.71 a month.
China Unicom had the second-highest number of 3G users in China’s three big carriers at the end of June. The company’s 3G customers were 7.56 million, compared to 7.18 million for China Telecom and 10.46 million for China Mobile.
