China United CDMA Network Rollout By 4Q '01
At Earliest
Dow Jones Newswires
BEIJING -- China United Telecommunications Group expects its Unicom
Horizon Mobile Communications' CDMA network to be operational by the
fourth quarter at the earliest, state media reported Thursday.
China United initially plans to extend the code division multiple access, or
CDMA, network to cover 300 cities in 31 provinces across China, the official
Xinhua News Agency reported.
At a ceremony to mark the launch of the sale of CDMA handsets by 19
government-approved Chinese equipment manufacturers, China United
Vice-President Lu Jianguo said construction of the CDMA network is
proceeding smoothly, the report said.
Based on Unicom Horizon's rollout plan, construction of the network should be
completed by the fourth quarter, Lu said. However, he said the network isn't
expected to be operational until late this year or early next year.
"This (launch) shows that China United isn't only working hard to establish a
good CDMA network, but also is positively promoting both stylish and
functional CDMA handsets," he said.
China United is the state-run parent company of the Hong Kong- and New
York-listed China Unicom Ltd. (CHU).
As part of China's expansion of its mobile phone network, China United has
been approved by the government to adopt the CDMA standard.
The general system for mobile communications, or GSM, standard is already
widely used in China. But the introduction of a CDMA network will allow
China United to offer an alternative mobile phone service to rival carrier,
China Mobile (Hong Kong) Ltd. (CHL).
-By Owen Brown, Dow Jones |
