<We are moving forward with GSM," he said. "(But) I haven't heard
anyone say Unicom is abandoning CDMA to go all out on GSM.">
China Unicom: Still Awaiting Govt Word On
CDMA Rollout
Dow Jones Newswires
BEIJING -- China United Telecommunications Corp.'s plan to deploy
networks using code division multiple access, or CDMA, mobile
communications technology remains on hold just weeks ahead of its
multibillion dollar initial public offering, a company spokesman said
Wednesday.
"We are still waiting for an official decision by the government," Zhang
Jiakun, an official in the company's news office, told Dow Jones
Newswires. "Relevant (government) departments are working on this, and
we can't do it until they provide their views."
The CDMA rollout is part of plans by China United Telecom, or Unicom,
to raise up to $4 billion in an IPO slated for June. The unit to be listed,
China Unicom Ltd., controls the right to develop networks based on
CDMA, as well as to existing mobile networks based on the competing
GSM standard.
As reported, Unicom, the country's second largest telecoms company,
plans to use the proceeds from its IPO to help finance a three-year 104.8
billion yuan (US$1=CNY8.28) expansion program, according to the
company's prospectus.
Unicom struck a deal in February with U.S.-based Qualcomm Inc.
(QCOM), which holds most of the patents to CDMA, on the licensing
terms for CDMA use by Chinese mobile operators. Within a week,
however, foreign executives involved in CDMA projects in China said the
government had suspended the CDMA rollout.
At a news conference in March, Premier Zhu Rongzhi denied reports of a
government suspension, but said CDMA projects had been delayed
because Unicom failed to properly coordinate its plans with the Ministry of
Information Industry, the country's telecoms regulator.
"I think it won't be long before there is a settlement to this question," Zhu
said.
Unicom's Zhang said despite the continued delay, Unicom hasn't given up
on CDMA.
"We are moving forward with GSM," he said. "(But) I haven't heard
anyone say Unicom is abandoning CDMA to go all out on GSM."
-By Jason Dean; 8610 6532-6652; jason.dean@dowjones.com |
