2000.12.25
LG to re-bid for IMT-2000 if bidders given choice of mode
LG Glocom, an LG-led consortium, said yesterday that it would re-bid in the planned follow-up contest for a business license for the next generation mobile service only if the government accepts its request to let bidders choose their service mode.
The consortium failed to win an IMT-2000 license Dec. 15, as the Ministry of Information and Communication chose consortiums led by SK Telecom and Korea Telecom as operators of W-CDMA (wideband-code division multiple access) mode service. The ministry plans to grant one remaining license to an applicant opting for cdma2000-based service in February next year.
LG Glocom has said it won't apply for a cdma2000 license, arguing that mobile businesses based on the technology can't compete with operations based on W-CDMA for market volume and investment cost.
W-CDMA, developed by European companies, is projected to take over 80 percent of the third generation wireless service market. Qualcomm-licensed cdma2000 is expected to have a smaller market, limited to Korea, the United States and a few other countries.
"The government should respect the principle of market economics by giving businesses the right to choose among competing modes," said an official of LG, adding that if the proposal is accepted, the consortium will take part in the follow-up race.
But a ministry official said it is unlikely that the government will accommodate LG's request.
"The government's policy is not going to change on the request of a bidder," he said.
The ministry has tried to encourage LG to apply for a cdma2000 license, hoping the consortium will help extend the nation's leadership in the global market.
But LG said cdma2000 will face unfavorable market conditions in competition with a W-CDMA service.
In a report on the prospect of IMT-2000 market, LG enumerated the problems of cdma2000.
These include its investment cost, which will be 400 billion won higher than that required by W-CDMA. Cdma2000 handsets will be more expensive than those based on W-CDMA, because the mobile service will have a smaller subscriber base. LG aslo said a cdma2000 operator will expect to break even in 2009, four years later than W-CDMA operators.
If LG applies for the one remaining ticket in January, it will be competing with the Hanaro Telecom-led consortium, which was the sole applicant opting for cdma-2000, but was not given a license due to its failure to meet the minimum financial and technological requirements. The company has already expressed its willingness to reapply. (HJJ) |
