China Mobile pessimistic about TD-SCDMA - industry insider
Shanghai. January 28. INTERFAX-CHINA
interfax.cn
- China Mobile is pessimistic about the development of TD-SCDMA, China's homegrown 3G standard, because of handset problems and the relative strength of other standards, an industry insider said today.
The source also said that operators are already preparing to compete over who will develop a network for WCDMA, the European 3G standard, after the TD-SCDMA network is in place.
"Inside China Mobile, most people are actually not optimistic [about TD-SCDMA development]," the source, who wished to remain anonymous, told Interfax.
The source said that China Mobile is working to ensure TD-SCDMA is ready in time for the Olympics in August, despite problems with the network and with handsets.
"China Mobile employees have been using TD-SCDMA handsets since November 2007 for testing purposes. They can use some 3G functions, such as video telephone and high-speed download. However, due to quality problems with TD-SCDMA handsets, the results of the trials have not been good," the source said.
"However, even though there are many problems, the TD-SCDMA network will be put into use before the Olympics," the source said.
The source said that TD-SCDMA handsets are encountering difficulties. "One reason [China Mobile is pessimistic about TD-SCDMA] is that TD-SCDMA handsets, which are produced in China, have serious problems." The source added that the earliest that phone numbers for TD-SCDMA handsets will be released to the general public will be in May of this year.
Compared with handsets supporting the WCDMA network, TD-SCDMA handsets are much weaker in both quantity and quality, the source said.
Another problem with TD-SCDMA is that the network is unstable, and does not operate well in cities with many tall buildings, such as Shanghai, the source said, since the buildings obstruct the signals.
WCDMA appears to be the preferred choice among Chinese operators. According to the source, competition is already heating up over who will be permitted to develop WCDMA in China after TD-SCDMA is in use.
"In fact, China Mobile prefers WCDMA, and was actually less willing [to construct a TD-SCDMA network than a WCDMA network]," the source said.
Analysts have speculated that following the reshuffle of China's telecom industry, which is expected to happen in the near future, China Telecom will be responsible for WCDMA network construction after it receives a license to operate in the mobile industry. In addition, China Unicom's CDMA business will be taken over by China Telecom, China Unicom's GSM business will be taken over by China Netcom, and China TieTong will be merged with China Mobile. These three reshuffled operators - China Mobile, China Telecom and China Netcom - will therefore all have fixed-line, mobile and broadband businesses, as well as 3G licenses, according to industry insiders.
The source said that after the industry reshuffle is complete, China Mobile is planning to compete with China Telecom for the right to construct a WCDMA network.
"There are many reasons for operators to compete for the WCDMA network," the source said. "One reason is that because WCDMA is the 3G standard in Europe, many foreigners will need a WCDMA network when they are in China. A more important reason is that Nokia and Motorola, which currently enjoy large percentages of China's handset market, mainly produce 3G handsets that support WCDMA."
There are currently six state-owned telecom operators in China: China Mobile, China Unicom, China Telecom, China Netcom, China TieTong and China Satcom. Of the six, only China Mobile and China Unicom are currently licensed to provide mobile phone services. China Unicom provides both CDMA and GSM mobile services, while China Mobile only provides GSM mobile services. China Telecom and China Netcom both intend to enter the mobile market by obtaining 3G mobile service licenses.
The decision to develop a homegrown 3G standard, instead of using one of the existing standards available, has always been a somewhat controversial issue in China. Most analysts agree that the main reason the Chinese government decided to develop a homegrown standard was to avoid patent fees and to have more control over the technology. Other analysts have voiced the opinion that national security and national pride were factors as well.
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