Eric L. Thanks for your comments. My answer is as follows:
1) I stand corrected in that 1X MC does, of course, sopport a 144Kbps data rate rather than a 307Kbps data rate.
2) As for the two digital frequencies in Japan, I usderstand that the merged DDI, IDO, etc entity will indeed include two spectrum frequencies (which I assume are the same used in the US) plus some analogue. I note that the new high profile KYO/Qualcom phone to ship to the US in July is a trimode phone which operates at analog, CDMA 800 MHz and CDMA 1900MHz. These QCOM ASICS will presumably be available to Korean phone manufacturers too. Also, QCOM has the Subscriber Identity Module support in the works. As far as adding a GSM mode, as far as I know, QCOM has no such ASIC and the Koreans would have to incorporate this capability themselves.
3)On your suggested China upgrade from existing GSM to 1x MC, please remember that it would probably be necessarh to maintain continuity of service. Thus, It might be required to move along the proposed GSM to DS CDMA upgrade path.
4) Thinking China to the Bank. No, I'm not really doing that. However, the current $35 billion/year trade imbalance the US suffers with China will have to be addressed. Currently their comparative economic advantage is in relatively low tech goods and that of the US is in high tech goods. The way trade works between nations is for each to export those items in which it has a comparative economic advavtage---otherwise there can be no trade. China may dream of becomming a mighty telecom and high tech exporter but that scenerio just won't work---in short, we just don't need them. They will have to climb the economic ladder rung by rung just like Taiwan, Japan, Korea and others.
JohnG |
