Faced with diminishing prospects at home, South Korea’s SK Telecom has of late been looking at China to tap into the world’s largest mobile market. The groundwork is starting to pay rich dividends.

According to published reports, SK has signed a memorandum of understanding with the Chinese government to jointly develop a 3G mobile standard in the world’s most populous nation.

South Korea’s number one mobile phone operator and the Chinese government will cooperate on the development and commercialization of TD-SCDMA, China’s home-grown 3G standard.

TD-SCDMA allows communication of numerous subscribers by dividing a spectrum into time slots unlike other platforms, which use separate spectrums for wireless transmission and reception.
TD-SCDMA is one of three technologies that is recognized by the International Telecommunications Union as the next-generation mobile telecom standard. The other two are CDMA2000 and wideband-CDMA.

Under the agreement, SK plans to set up a TD-SCDMA experimental station in Pundang, south of Seoul, in 2007 to carry out tests on the mobility-specific techniques. It will also establish a TD-SCDMA service center in China to pursue joint research in 3G multimedia services, value-added devices and platforms.

“SK Telecom is the first foreign telecom service provider to establish a cooperative relationship with China on TD-SCDMA technologies. This signifies the full recognition of our technological prowess,” SK CEO Kim Shin-bae said.

SK spokesperson Do Hoon added: “We have agreed on building a cooperative model with China for the telecom industry, for not only TD-SCDMA technologies but also beyond 3G standards.”

In June, SK had agreed to buy up to $1 billion worth of China Unicom’s (News – Alert) bonds, giving it an option on a 6.67 percent stake in China’s second-biggest mobile firm.
The Unicom share first gave SK Telecom entry into the fast-expanding Chinese market. It is the largest mobile phone market in the world in terms of subscribers. China has more than 421 million mobile phone subscribers and the number is slated to rise to at least 600 million within the next three years.

SK Telecom provides cellular services, wireless Internet services, and online Internet and Internet access via CDMA networks. Through its subsidiary, SK Teletech, it also designs, markets and sells digital handsets under the brand name Sky. The company provides international calling services, multimedia services and a telematic service called NATE Drive, which offers drivers with real-time location and traffic information.

Source- http://ipcommunications.tmcnet.com

Technorati : China, Mobile, SK Telecom, South Korea
Ice Rocket : China, Mobile, SK Telecom, South Korea