For the first time, an official of one of the mainland's four state-controlled telecom operators admitted yesterday that licenses for third-generation, or 3G, mobile services may not be issued in time for the Beijing Olympics.
"It seems to me there's no rush" to issue 3G licenses, Dow Jones Newswires quoted China Netcom (0906) independent director Hou Ziqiang as saying.

When asked if the central government will issue 3G licenses after the Olympics, Hou said "maybe."

China has said it will offer 3G mobile services in time for the Olympics, but has not provided details about the licensing process. The ambiguity has led some to believe that 3G roaming services will be offered to foreign visitors using an advanced trial network, instead of officially licensed commercial services, and will leave the licensing process until after the Olympics.

"The Olympics cities already have TD-SCDMA," Hou noted, referring to Time-Division Synchronous Code Division Multiple Access standard, a homegrown technology being tested. TD- SCDMA will be offered in conjunction with services based on the American- developed CDMA2000 and European- backed W-CDMA.

China Netcom's parent is responsible for testing TD-SCDMA in the Olympic city of Qingdao. China is testing TD-SCDMA in 10 cities.

Last update : 27-09-2007

Average user rating

   (0 vote)