Wednesday December 6, 12:43 am Eastern Time
Compaq aims to boost China CDMA networking presence
HONG KONG, Dec 6 (Reuters) - Compaq Computer Corp (NYSE:CPQ - news) said on Wednesday it will invest up to US$30 million in 2001, through collaborations and joint ventures, in a bid to boost its presence in China's fast-growing telecoms market.
Also on Tuesday U.S.-based Compaq and mainland China networking equipment maker Datang Telecom signed a memorandum of understanding to collaborate on CDMA-standard wireless opportunities in China.
Compaq will provide mobile roaming and other technologies to be integrated into Datang networking products, the companies said during a telecoms conference in Hong Kong.
Plans by Beijing-backed carrier China Unicom Group to build a current-generation network using the CDMA standard developed by U.S.-based Qualcomm Inc (NasdaqNM:QCOM - news) gained momentum this week after a delay-filled year, and CDMA equipment suppliers said they expect China Unicom Group to begin awarding contracts for buildout of the network early in 2001.
Philip Yu, president of Compaq Greater China, said his company stood to see a ``very substantial revenue upside'' -- in the range of tens of millions of dollars -- if, as expected, the first phase of China Unicom Group's planned CDMA network is built to serve 10 million customers.
Other CDMA networking equipment makers hoping to sell gear to the planned China Unicom network include Nortel Networks (Toronto:NT.TO - news), Motorola Inc (NYSE:MOT - news), Ericsson , and Lucent Technologies (NYSE:LU - news).
CDMA stands for code division multiple access, and in its current-generation competes with the European GSM mobile standard, which is the dominant standard in China.
Datang already supplies CDMA equipment in China to the military controlled Great Wall Telecom mobile network, which will soon be merged into China Unicom Group.
biz.yahoo.com
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