Hope this has not been posted.
Ed
10:57 PM ET 02/27/00
China Unicom plans CDMA network this year - paper
BEIJING, Feb 28 (Reuters) - In a possible signal that a
suspension in the rollout of CDMA cellular networks in China is
temporary, an official newspaper said on Monday China Unicom
would build phone systems using the U.S. technology this year.
The brief article in the People's Daily appeared to be the
first mention of CDMA by state media since Beijing suspended its
rollout last week.
A Ministry of Information Industry official told Reuters on
Friday plans by China Unicom and another state carrier to build
CDMA networks had been "suspended" and contract negotiations with
equipment suppliers postponed.
"China Unicom has not completed its preparations and
applications," said the official, declining to elaborate on the
reasons for the suspension.
Some industry executives said they were worried the
suspension was a tactical move by Beijing aimed at putting
pressure on the U.S. Congress to support China's entry to the
World Trade Organisation.
Executives and analysts said a long-term delay could
jeopardise China Unicom's plans to adopt the U.S. technology
pioneered by San Diego-based Qualcomm Inc .
Several North American and Korean firms, including Nortel
Networks , Lucent Technologies , Motorola
and Samsung Electronics <05930.KS>, are jockeying for meaty
contracts to supply CDMA equipment.
The People's Daily article made no reference to the
suspension and simply recounted well-publicised plans by China
Unicom to build a national system using the standard.
"China Unicom plans within the year to build CDMA digital
mobile communications networks on a large scale, so vast numbers
of users may enjoy superior mobile communications service under
the CDMA standard," the Communist Party newspaper said.
It also mentioned the signing earlier this month of an
intellectual property rights agreement between China Unicom and
Qualcomm that licenses the technology to Chinese manufacturers.
Details of the pact are confidential and industry regulators
have not said whether they were happy with the terms.
Besides China Unicom, Century Mobile Communications Corp -- a
smaller mobile phone company backed by the People's Liberation
Army -- also has ambitious plans for the U.S. technology and
already operates networks in several key Chinese markets.
((Matt Pottinger, Beijing Newsroom +8610 6586-5566 ext 204,
Fax +8610 8527-5258 beijing.newsroom@reuters.com)) |
