China Domestic TD-SCDMA 3G Handsets Due By 2005
China Putian, the country's largest electronics group,
has committed to produce the country's first mobile phones
using TD-SCDMA, a 3G standard developed in China in cooperation
with Siemens
of Germany. Under the agreement, Putian and the Chongqing
Institute of Posts and Telecommunications, the developer,
will jointly set up a production base in the southwestern
city of Chongqing to make the 3G phones.
The signed agreement is a framework agreement, and so
far, the proportion of investment has not yet been decided.
The first batch of TD-SCDMA phones will be made in the
first quarter of 2004 for network testing, and commercial
production will begin in 2005.
The Chinese government has held back on granting 3G mobile
licenses. Many believe that this is to give the TD-SCDMA
standard extra time to pass testing requirements. In an
effort to push the new standard internationally, the Chinese
government has offered the technology on generous terms
to other
countries , but so far there have not been any takers.
The TD-SCDMA standard competes with the US's CDMA2000
system, which is backed by Qualcomm, and Europe's WCDMA,
which are supported by Ericsson and Nokia.
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