Asia - Europe Business

Mobile's 3G Handsets to be Net-Ready by April

China Mobile is requiring all TD-SCDMA handsets to be Internet-accessible by April. China Mobile handsets were previously limited to wireless application protocol (WAP) sites. China Mobile recently extended the service period for Guangdong 3G broadband subscribers in an effort to retain the users, said an unnamed industry insider.

The company has been planning a mobile application store, "Mobile Market," for the last six months, which will focus on 3G broadband, mobile videos, video "12580," video email and other services. China Mobile Chairman and CEO Wang Jianzhou previously said that the company was studying Apple's software shop business model.

Lisa

NSN wins Chinese deals worth almost EUR1B

Nokia Siemens Networks (NSN) has won a major double-deal in China, securing 2G and 3G contracts with China Mobile and China Unicom worth RMB7.6 billion (EUR880 million). WCDMA operator China Unicom has awarded the European-based infrastructure vendor - the world's second-largest - a deal for 3G networks in 11 provinces across the country. Meanwhile, China Mobile, the world's largest mobile operator by subscribers, has awarded NSN an unspecified deal to provide it with "TD-SCDMA and GSM networks." Both operator deployments will take place this year.

Although the deals represent only a fraction of the reported US$58.5 billion that will be spent by China's three mobile operators on 3G in the next three years, the move likely cements the European vendor's place in China's long-term industry plans. China Mobile is already prepping an eventual move to TD-LTE (the TDD version of LTE technology), and a statement from NSN talks up the vendor's "pioneering work on the next-generation" standard.

Lisa

NetEase to Launch Monopoly Webgame

NetEase plans to release a web version of its Monopoly-style casual game Fu Jia Xi You Online and begin closed beta testing of the version in early March. The company's Hangzhou-based research and development team developed the web version, which is synchronized with the game's client-end version and will be accessible by all NetEase accounts.

Lisa

 

Unicom Speeds 3G Release, iPhone Contract

China Unicom plans to release the WCDMA network in selected areas on May 1 and cover 248 cities by the end of the year. WCDMA would launch on May 17 and cover 282 cities before the end of the year.

Unicom plans to give Apple certain rewards after securing the iPhone, including purchasing a fixed amount of the phones and pre-installing the Apple iTunes store. Rumors in mid-February said Unicom began testing the iPhone in Henan and Hebei provinces two weeks earlier.

Lisa

China Mobile to Do "Fixed Line" TD-SCDMA

China Mobile subsidiary Guangdong Mobile may release a TD-SCDMA network-based "fixed line" service as early as March. The new service will offer "188-" numbers, low calling fees, no fixed monthly fees and dual mode GSM/TD-SCDMA operation. China Mobile has not settled on a charging model for the service which may offer 50-minute and 500-minute monthly packages for RMB 10 and RMB 30.

Lisa

China Telecom: CDMA Contributes 35% of Beijing Revenue

China Telecom subsidiary Beijing Telecom generated 35% of its revenue from its CDMA business in 2008 and is targeting 50% in 2009. Beijing Telecom previously announced plans to increase the speed of its CDMA Internet service to 1.8-3.1Mbps in the first quarter of 2010.

 

Lisa

China Telecom Campaigns for CDMA Manufacturing

China Telecom held a forum in Beijing on February 13 to urge executives from more than 70 CDMA handset manufacturers, 40 data card manufacturers, 20 handset designers, chip manufacturers and handset retailers to increase their investment in the CDMA standard. China Telecom is currently short 3.25 million CDMA handsets and has required 500,000 new CDMA terminals per week since January. The company sold 1.29 million CDMA terminals last December, the highest sales since 2003; the amount grew 40% month-on-month to reach 1.8 million in January.

Lisa

ZTE Handset Shipments Up 40% YoY in '08

Chinese telecom equipment provider ZTE shipped 45 million handsets in 2008, up 40% year-on-year, to secure its place as the world's sixth largest handset manufacturer. ZTE accounted for nearly 50% of the domestic TD-SCDMA terminal market during the period to become the nation's largest 3G handset brand. Global shipments of GSM/UMTS products doubled to grant ZTE 15% market share in 2008.

Lisa

China Telecom to Buy 50M CDMA Phones in '09, New Package, Rural Promotion

China Telecom's Jiangsu subsidiary plans to release a new CDMA package priced at RMB 1 per day for traffic up to 1G.

China Telecom's demand for CDMA terminals is expected to reach 50 million in 2009, including 20 million 3G handsets. The company plans to begin second-round handset bidding soon. An insider previously said China Telecom sold over 60,000 "e-Surfing" brand CDMA handsets per day during China's Spring Festival (January 26 - February 1).

China Telecom began promoting its CDMA handsets in the rural areas of 31 provinces, regions and cities nationwide on February 8. The promotion offers rural dwellers a 13% government rebate for CDMA handset purchases at China Telecom sales locations; gift packages; a mobile fee subsidy and a subsidy for combined fixed-line, broadband and mobile service packages. The company began handset promotions in some rural areas in mid-January. China Unicom launched rural handset promotions in areas around Beijing and in 12 provinces on January 16 and planned to expand the program nationwide beginning February 1.

Lisa

China Mobile: '09 3G Plan

China Mobile plans to increase 2009 handset subsidies from about RMB 8 billion to RMB 10 billion to attract more 3G clients. The RMB 10 billion subsidy also covers 2G service, and China Mobile parent company China Mobile Communications Corporation plans to invest RMB 59 billion to expand 3G service in 2009. China Mobile's plan to provide 3G coverage to 38 cities before mid-year is currently on schedule.

Lisa