China Unicom enters 3G price war
www.WirelessFederation.com/news: Slashing the tariffs of the three-month-old W-CDMA service has been planned by China Unicom to add fuel to the already ignited 3G price war in China. From February 1, packages like 36 Yuan ($5.27) for 300MB of data and 50 minutes of voice calls a month will be made available to the customers.
30MB of data, 78 texts, 10 video calls and 200 voice minutes will be offered in another new plan for 56 Yuan a month. The company also aims to wrap up its three-year TD-SCDMA network rollout plan a year ahead of schedule.
Unicom had around 3 million WCDMA users and 10 million 3G customers. Due to the launch of its Apple’s iPhone on October 30, more 3G customers than 2G users were added by Unicom.
RIM and China Mobile join hands to expand BlackBerry service
www.WirelessFederation.com/news: China Mobile and Research In Motion will expand the services of BlackBerry to smaller companies and individual users. This will allow RIM to boost use of the “smartphones” in the potentially huge market.
The co- operation between the two also includes the plans to support TD-SCDMA and TD-LTE technologies for BlackBerry devices used in China.
World’s biggest phone carrier by subscribers, China Mobile has been providing BlackBerry services in China since 2006 but the use was limited mainly to employees of a few major corporations.
RIM is also planning to use the national distribution network of Digital China to extend its reach inside the Chinese mainland. According to Jim Balsillie, Co-CEO of RIM, extensive knowledge and market presence of Digital China will further expand the opportunity for RIM in China.
China Mobile was awarded the long-awaited Chinese-developed standard, TD-SCDMA from Chinese government early this year.
Taiwan launches 3G network using Chinese technology
www.WirelessFederation.com/news: China lauded the successful launch of 3G mobile network using Chinese TD-SCDMA technology in Taiwan. It considered it as a successful display of the technological partnership of the two countries.
After several trips made by officials from China to Taiwan, the launch of the network was possible. Chairman of the world’s largest mobile network operator, China Mobile, spent several days in Taipei to promote TD-SCDMA.
Vibo Telecom, a 3G mobile operator in Taiwan launched the TD-SCDMA trial network on Tuesday in Taipei and became one of the few companies running a TD-SCDMA trial outside of China.
According to China’s Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, by the trial of TD-SCDMA network in Taiwan, local handset makers and network equipment developers will get a good place to test TD-SCDMA devices. The ministry also said that Taiwanese and Chinese companies can research ways to install WCDMA (Wideband Code Division Multiple Access) technology alongside TD-SCDMA technology thus gaining experience in dual-network compatibility.
The Largest Mobile Operator in the world now has over half a billion customers!
China Mobile, the world’s largest mobile operator in terms of subscribers, said on Sep 21, 2009 that it has over half a billion customers now.
China Mobile recorded a customer base of 502.936 million as of August 31, 2009, after net additions of 5.3 million during August alone. The company has gained more than 45 million subscribers since Jan 2009.
According to China Mobile,the number of 3G subscribers on China Mobile’s homegrown TD-SCDMA network reached 1.33 million in August 2009, up from just over a million in July.
Equipment spending by Chinese mobile operators is estimated to hit $41bn over the next two years.
SK Telecom to Develop 3G Mobile Standard in China
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
