Single CDMA network to link Korea, Japan, China
A single CDMA (code division multiple access) network will connect mobile-phone
users in Korea, China and Japan this December at the earliest, industry sources here
predicted yesterday.
According to the sources, the Ministry of Information and Communication is working
on a project to tie up the three major countries in Northeast Asia with a single
communication line in an effort to activate international roaming services of the nation's
existing CDMA and envisaged third-generation, or 3G, mobile phones.
To attain the goal, the government plans to soon form a council made up of domestic
and foreign telecom operators and equipment manufacturers to take charge of the
project.
In the initial stage, the government envisions introducing service connecting Korea,
China and Japan with a network of CDMA, which is already in commercial service in
Korea, and cdma2000-1x (IS-95C), which is set to debut around this May.
Once roaming among the three countries becomes available, efforts will be made to
create a network to cover all Asia, such as the GSM (global service for mobile
communication) in Europe.
The government will organize a consulting body of domestic companies for the project,
possibly within this month and have it draw up a specific plan for activating
international roaming services, before negotiating with foreign companies.
Industry sources speculate that top candidates for the negotiations will include China
Unicom, which recently signed an agreement on cooperation in building Chinese
CDMA and cdma2000-1x networks with Korea's largest carrier, SK Telecom, and
KDDI CDMA of Japan, which has forged a business partnership with Shinsegi
Telecomm of Korea.
With selected partners, the government will consult on the plan to launch global
roaming services to link Korea, China and Japan and to introduce a trial service in
December.
The project would award the government with an initiative in the global roaming service
business, which has been pursued by domestic telecom operators on an individual
basis up to now.
The government aims at preventing domestic companies from engaging in excessive
competition for the service.
When successfully accomplished, mobile-phone users in the three countries will be
able to use international roaming services at low charges while domestic telecom
carriers will enjoy more opportunities to advance into the Asian market.
(hsshine@koreaherald.co.kr)
By Shin Hye-son Staff reporter
2001.03.13
koreaherald.co.kr |
