Seoul pushing for domestic production of CDMA parts
koreaherald.co.kr
The government is pushing to have all the parts
that are used in CDMA (code division multiple
access) wireless handsets and ADSL (asymmetric
digital subscriber line) systems produced
domestically.
Announcing the plan, which envisions 100
percent domestic production of CDMA and ADSL
parts by the end of next June, the Ministry of
Information and Communication said it was
prompted to take action by the steep increase in
parts for mobile communication devices which are
taking a heavy toll on the nation's trade balance.
The plan, which follows closely on the heels of
the government-placed ban on handset subsidies,
a move made to contain the dollar drain on
imported CDMA parts, would encourage
equipment manufacturers and parts suppliers to
work closely to ensure that more domestically
developed parts are employed in the end-products.
Korean makers of CDMA handsets have relied
completely on Qualcomm for core chipsets. But
chipsets have been developed locally, and a
significant portion of other parts are made here,
including liquid crystal displays (LCD) and printed
circuit boards (PCB). "In fact, some 71 percent of
the parts are made locally now," said a ministry
official.
To further cut down on imported parts,
Samsung SDI and LG Chemical are expected to
obtain the capacity to produce 4 million cells per
month within the year, essentially substituting all
battery imports. Samsung Electronics and
Hyundai Electronics Industries (HEI) are working
on developing flash memory chips and SMBs
(small and medium businesses) are engaged in
producing antennas and some repeater parts,
according to the ministry. "We expect to have all
of CDMA handset parts made domestically by
next June," said the official.
ADSL equipment has not yet established a firm
domestic production base, with about 45 percent
of the parts being produced in the country.
Manufacturers rely on imports almost exclusively
for modem chipsets and central processing units
(CPUs).
However, Samsung Electronics was able to
export some parts of ADSL modem chipsets to the
United States and Taiwan last month. Complete
chipsets should be developed by the end of the
year and should be available to equipment
manufacturers next January, the ministry
predicted.
The rest of the parts should be developed by
next June, allowing complete ADSL equipment to
be made using domestically produced parts.
Meanwhile, exports of wireless telecom
equipment, including CDMA handsets and
systems and GSM handsets, in the first four
months of the year recorded 2.08 billion dollars,
while imports of parts stood at $1.14 billion.
Updated: 07/07/2000
by Kim Hoo-ran Staff reporter |
