So --- by the beginning of 2002, we'll have China Mobile ( with 540K GPRS capacity, for whatever the POS technology will be worth ) competing with Unicom ( with 3mil lines of 1x - Message 15859862 )
Can you choose wisely? <g>
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Generation switch holds hope of China Mobile
Source: South China Morning Post
Publication date: 2001-05-30
China Mobile, the mainland's biggest mobile communications service provider, is
banking on its 2.5-generation technology to compete against rival China Unicom.
GPRS, or general packet radio switching technology, will be launched soon, according
to a report in the China Daily yesterday quoting China Mobile deputy director Lu
Xiandong.
GPRS is designed to provide an always-on connection to the Internet for mobile
telephones and computers, especially portable computers.
China Mobile, using GSM (global system for mobile communications) technology,
controls 78 per cent of the domestic mobile phone market.
But growing competition at home, and from foreign players particularly after China joins
the World Trade Organisation, is likely to weaken its grip in the coming years.
China Unicom, the country's second-largest mobile communications service provider,
has gradually expanded its base, having recently let out contracts worth US$1.46 billion
to foreign and Chinese telecoms companies to build the nation's advanced CDMA
(code division multiple access) network.
The CDMA standard is believed to be more efficient in using bandwidth than the GSM
technology, which predominates in Asia and Europe.
China Unicom and a host of other firms such as China Eastern Communication have
pumped in hundreds of millions of dollars to produce equipment based on the CDMA
standard.
China Unicom's CDMA network will be able to handle 15.15 million subscribers. It
would emphasise to a large extent data communication and have a transmission speed
slightly faster than the GPRS technology.
"This has put a little more pressure on China Mobile to speed up its GPRS roll-out,"
said Craig Watts, an analyst at BDA China in Beijing.
Upgrading to GPRS or CDMA would require users to buy new handsets and China
Mobile wants to ensure that the early adopters of the new technology, many of whom will
be its existing subscribers, will not shift to the CDMA network.
China is the world's largest mobile communications market, with 105.19 million mobile
phone users. The government forecasts there will be 300 million by 2005.
China Mobile could kick off GPRS as early as next month in Guangdong province,
which is expected to attract 50,000 subscribers in Guangzhou and 40,000 in Shenzhen.
The company expects capacity to reach 540,000 subscribers by the end of this year.
China Unicom's CDMA network is expected to be available in October.
Publication date: 2001-05-30
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This is why Nokia shows its fear in its blackened white paper.....
The Guild must sign as many victims as possible in 2001 - before GPRS disappointments and failures are painfully evident.
This is also why EDGE is again front and center as "2.75" G, <g>
While GPRS speed and performance lies were perceived as credible, GPRS was marketed as the gateway to 3G.
Now, with reports of sub 10kbs speeds and insurmountable network allocation problems the norm - save diminishing the quality of voice services by reserving cells for data and suffering a corresponding loss in voice service and revenue - "2.75"G is ushered on stage as the next fix.
Doesn't seem to matter that they can't even make EDGE work in the lab as yet. Doesn't seem to matter that EDGE does nothing to solve network allocation and capacity problems.
String them along, as long as possible...
funny world. |
