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China Unicom to launch CDMA network on Dec 31-MII
SHANGHAI, Dec 20 (Reuters) - China's second largest wireless phone carrier, China Unicom Group, will launch the country's first nationwide CDMA mobile phone network on December 31, the Ministry of Information Industry said on Thursday.
``China Unicom's CDMA network will begin to operate in 31 provinces, autonomous regions and municipalities on December 31, 2001,'' it said in a statement published in the official Liberation Daily newspaper.
Code division multiple access (CDMA) technology, developed by Qualcomm Inc (NasdaqNM:QCOM - news), is a rival to the more popular GSM (global system for mobile communication) standard used in earlier-built cellular networks in China.
Unicom's Hong Kong- and New York-listed unit, China Unicom Ltd (NYSE:CHU - news), has agreed to rent the CDMA network, which will have an initial capacity of 15 million subscribers.
China Unicom Group plans to list A shares in China, off limits to foreigners, and expects to win state approval soon for what could be the country's biggest domestic share offering, the listed unit said in early December.
Unicom's A share IPO could be worth 12.5 billion yuan ($1.51 billion) and proceeds would be used to fund the construction of the CDMA network, industry sources said.
($1 equals 8.276 Yuan) |