As a part of China’s European sourcing, promoted by the Ministry of Commerce, two of its largest 3G operators, China Mobile and China Unicom, today signed sourcing contracts with telecoms equipment supplier Nokia-Siemens in Berlin.
Nokia-Siemens promises to invest more in China’s TD-SCDMA network and hopes to gain a larger share of the TD market.
According to plan, China’s three telecoms operators will each operate a 3G network, each with different standards.
China Stakes reports Nokia-Siemens has already accomplished, jointly with China Unicom, the construction of a WCDMA video phone network in several provinces and cities including Shanghai. It is also China Mobile’s supplier for its TD-SCEMA network construction in Jiangxi and Fujian. Nokia-Siemens considers China Mobile and China Unicom’s 3G network construction a great opportunity for the company’s own development. Other European giants such as Ericsson and Alcatel-Lucent have also gained a slice of the construction of China Mobile’s TD network and China Unicom’s WCDMA network.
Nokia-Siemens’ strategy for 3G technology is to support WCDMA and TD at the same time. The company will also push development of those technologies into TD-LTE and LTE, respectively, a senior stage of the two.
Nokia-Siemens will also continue its cooperation with Huawei, with their joint venture, TD Tech, focusing on TD technology.
Nokia-Siemens has been the first to reach the first-stage testing of TD-LTE, jointly with China Mobile.
The company will continue to invest in the 3G area, especially in China, and will guarantee the smooth transition from 3G to 4G-oriented LTE.
Due to the enormous China market and rich talent resources in cities such as Shanghai, Nokia-Siemens is continuing to expand its R&D team in China. It has six centers in China now, while its TD service team involves 1200 employees, with a promise to grow in future. Nokia-Siemens’ R&D investment, 2.5 billion euros last year, usually accounts for about 16% of sales.