The Korean government works very closely with Korean companies.
Post edit: should be a response to Bux's post//
Yes, exactly. As recently as 1994, S Korea's "private sector" in certain industries was completely under the direction of the central planners and regulators, a la China. The press releases are revealing: carriers: if the gov't let's us choose, we prefer W-CDMA; gov't: we'll let the carriers choose (implies the power to revoke that freedom). A three card monte.
What gives this game "credibility" is that, as noted earlier by several posters, none of the carriers (or the gov't) has to commit to do anything for the time being except putz with their network suppliers in the lab for a while and dribble out what passes for advances in W-CDMA developments via press releases. If the gov't "comes to its senses", CDMA2000 is but a CSM card, software upgrade and backwards compatible handsets away.
NOK and ERICY are simply trying to extend the end-game, hoping that their position on the chess board (thanks, Nancy) improves via delay and FUD. Recall when the Korean Ministries opened the public relations discussion on royalty rates for 3G a couple of months ago--after NOK and ERICY delegations visited Seoul and promised reduced royalty rates. Well, yes, if I were NOK and ERICY, I'd offer to waive or reduce my royalties to the Koreans too (and then point fingers at the Q for insisting on its unseemly royalty rate), given that:
(i) their royalties, netted against Q's in W-CDMA, might not leave the Finns and Swedes much anyway--ERICY has apparently already conceded that point in its cross-license with Q;
(ii) if that were enough to convince the Koreans to "support" W-CDMA, it gives NOK/ERICY a much better shot at MARKET SHARE in 3G--handsets and infrastructure--that's the name of the game; and
(iii) in a CDMA2000 world, the Samsungs and KYOs of the world will eat the Europeans' lunch.
One of the avowed premises and justifications of the choice of W-CDMA by the carriers--roaming in a W-CDMA-dominated world--makes no sense given that, by the time W-CDMA is deployable--roaming between 1x/3x and W-CDMA should be a non-issue given chip (MSM5200?) and RUI (SIM) developments. What does make sense, as Jeff or Skip pointed out is offering the Korean components industry the platform to compete in the W-CDMA space, as and when it is realized. Hard currency generation, balance of payments and domestic employment factors make that real. But does that dictate the whole-sale shift from CDMAOne/1x migration path to W-CDMA adoption in new spectrum, I wouldn't think so. And even if it did, as long as the use of 1x in existing spectrum is not scrapped, and Q delivers on its promises of performance for 1x/hdr//1x/ev, it might not matter anyway.
Steve |
