Waiting for a 3G call
Is China gearing up to finally issue its long-awaited 3G licenses? According to China Daily, Chinese Industry and Information Technology vice minister Xi Guohua said at the China Mobility International Summit today that the ‘time is now ripe’ for the country to issue 3G licenses. Xi added that the Chinese government was ‘currently studying’ 3G policy and implementation, and would announce their findings ‘soon.’
But how do you quantify the word ‘soon’? As in ‘real soon now’ or as in inderiminate future?
In May, the government announced a huge restructuring of the telecoms industry and said it would not issue the licenses until it was complete.
Still waiting, honey
This was to promote healthy competition in the world’s largest wireless markets, which has 600 million mobile users, the vast majority (70%) of whom are customers of China Mobile. But there is still a lot standing in the way in streamlining the sector, which might not be resolved for another year or two.
The problems appear to be about China’s homegrown 3G standard TD-SCDMA. It has always been assumed that delaying the licenses gives TD (as we call in familiarly) growing space, and hopefully, the ability to compete against 3G techonologies already used worldwide, including W-CDMA.
The government has insisted that China Mobile implement TD, though there have been numerous reports that execs inside the telecoms firm don’t believe in the technology themselves.
China Mobile trundles on trying to implement TD, while the licenses remain on hold.
3G could be viewed as the government’s attempt to boost the economy. It was said by one expert that ‘upgrading telecom infrastructure construction can have a stimulative impact on the economy.’
If so, ‘soon’ perhaps really will mean soon. No bets are being made.
Source: Washington Post