To: slacker711 who wrote (6098 ) 2/2/2000 10:09:00 AM From: slacker711 Respond to of 13582
Korean perspective on Q/China deal....a little about a CDMA WLL launch this month.LGIC supplies CDMA system to China Qualcomm's agreement with China United Telecommunications Corp. (China Unicom) last Tuesday to license its CDMA (code division multiple access) technology to China has the potential to create a vast market for CDMA products in the country's $7.8 billion mobile phone sector. China's adoption of CDMA technology presents vast market opportunities for Korean manufacturers who are leading suppliers of CDMA products. In fact, Korean manufacturers are ahead of the traditional big three wireless manufacturers - Ericsson, Motorola and Nokia - in the CDMA field. Boding well for Korean CDMA manufacturers, China's first CDMA WLL (wireless local loop) service launched in Chengdu, Sichuan Province at the end of last month by China Unicom, uses a system exported by LG Information and Communications (LGIC). The service is expected to draw about 400,000 subscribers in Chengdu. "The launch of the CDMA WLL service will give us a chance to prove our technology in China," said an LGIC official in China. LGIC has been aggressively pursuing the Chinese market, investing some $16 million to setting up a joint venture, LG-TOPS, in Guangdong, Guangzhou, last year. LG-TOPS will initially focus on manufacturing WLL systems and eventually start producing CDMA handsets. A nationwide sales network will be set up through the joint venture in the first half of the year and the company hopes to take the no.1 market share for CDMA WLL in three years, LGIC said. China Unicom plans to deploy a nationwide CDMA network this year and LGIC, Samsung Electronics, Hyundai Electronics Industries are competing with Motorola and Ericsson, among others, to supply CDMA equipment. About 13 proposals have been submitted to China Unicom for CDMA equipment supply and successful bidders are expected to be announced in the coming month. China, until now, has primarily used a global system for mobile communications (GSM) technology for wireless phone services. The Chinese mobile telecom market is a lucrative one with wireless phone users projected to increase 63 percent this year to 70 million. Once China embraces CDMA technology, some experts predict that other Asian countries, such as Thailand and Taiwan, may follow China's lead when they upgrade their networks. Indonesia is also reported to be actively considering the adoption of CDMA technology and is in contact with Korean government officials and companies. (KHR)