"..Still trying to peddle a license nobody wants unless it is given away.."
A rather silly shot, not up to your standards...
The prospect of competing against established, dominant carriers with the same technology (cdma2000) was a stupid proposition from the onset - without incentives.
Now, include the requirement that SK and KT must strip themselves of their 1x networks as they (attempt to) bring their wCDMA networks online, and things would be perceived dramatically differently.
Or provide incentives for the cdma2000 carrier to have a viable chance to compete for market share.
And you seem a bit behind times - seems there's plenty of interest in that cdma2000 license. In no small part due to dismal wCDMA prospects and an immature, sloppily constructed, unstable, untested UMTS family of specifications.
"...I don't have an opinion about whether DS-HSDPA will, except it seems pretty ambitious..."
Latest I hear is December 01.
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Integration of 2nd into 3rd generation companies may end in failure
By Kim, Sang-ryong
Monday, May 28, 2001
The early integration of 2nd and 3rd generation businesses, which brought
about the heated discussion within the information and communication
industries, is to be cancelled.
Ministry of Information and Communication (MIC) has decided to oppose the
plan on the early integration of 2nd and 3rd networks offered by Korea Telecom
and the SK Group to reduce investment costs associated with the
asynchronous IMT2000 system.
MIC announced on May 27 that it did not intend to revise the radio regulations
related to the KT and SK plan to integrate 2nd and 3rd services and business,
early. According to the current radio regulation, the communication business is
to sell its network within 3 years. Consequently, the integration of 2nd and 3rd
service providers could be impossible within 3 years.
The view of the MIC means that it may use the 2nd generation network to
reduce investment costs when building the 3rd generation service, but that it
bans the sale of frequencies among businesses.
The MIC decision is perceived as a tough stance on behalf the government to
prohibit the planned integration of 2nd and 3rd generation services between KT
and SK.
The reason why MIC is assuming a negative view on the early integration of 2nd
and 3rd business initiatives, is because the MIC is concerned that early
integration could delay, or cause the failure of, the 3rd generation mobile
telecommunication service, IMT 2000.
Since the decision of the MIC not to revise the radio regulation for a given
period was made at a time when MIC has decided upon a system of differential
regulation system for major telecommunications businesses, it is likely that MIC
will introduce a quota-based, total volume system, using the proportion of
affected businesses.
In this way the MIC has ensured that if one company has in excess of two
telecommunication concerns that the two concernes would compete against one
another. This is particularly true for the SK Group that will have the 3 mobile
phone businesses of SK Telecom, SK ShinSegi Telecom and SKIMT, competing
with each other.
However, KT and SK Group expressed concern over MIC's stance. They
perceive MIC's decision as running counter to management logic, which is
based on the choice and concentration of investment.
etienglish.com |
