Olympic runup looking short for 3G licenses
September 27, 2007
For the first time, an official of one of the mainland's four state-controlled
telecom operators admitted yesterday that licenses for 3G mobile
services may not be issued in time for the Beijing Olympics, reported
by the Hong Kong Standard.
"It seems to me there's no rush" to issue 3G licenses,
Dow Jones Newswires quoted China Netcom 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.
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