中国发3G牌照 能拉动电信投资

中国政府正式为三家电信运营商发放第三代移动通信(3G)牌照。分析人士说，此举的目的不仅在于加速中国信息产业的升级，同时也是中国政府经济刺激方案的重要步骤。
中国工业和信息化部为中国最大的三家电信运营商分别颁发了第三代移动通信(3G)牌照。
正如业界最近几个月来的普遍预期，占中国无线通信市场份额近四分之三的中国移动通信集团公司(China Mobile)获得了中国自主研发的TD-SCDMA业务经营许可；中国电信集团公司(China Telecom)以及中国联合网络通信集团公司(China Unicom)分别获得了美国研发的CDMA2000标准以及欧洲研发和WCDMA标准的业务经营许可。
俗称3G的第三代移动通信标准和第二代相比，最主要的区别在于通信信道容量的大幅度增加。在3G标准下，手机数据传输速度将比现有网络提升几十倍以上。这意味着手机用户下载网页、音频、视频的速度将大大加快。
手机超级大国
目前，中国手机用户已经超过6亿3千万人，移动通信网络规模和用户都居于世界首位。中国工业和信息化部的数据显示，2008年前11个月，中国电信业务总量累计完成超过两万零460亿元人民币，同比增长百分之21点7。电信产业目前占中国GDP比重已经增加到百分之7左右。
扩大投资需求
华盛顿智库国际与战略研究中心技术和公共政策项目主任詹姆斯·路易斯(James Lewis)说，3G牌照的正式发放不仅将对中国电信业的升级换代产生深远影响，同时也将进一步扩大中国国内的投资需求，为产业供应链上的设备制造商以及增值服务提供商创造扩张机会。他说：
“全球经济处于衰退，很多国家都在寻找刺激经济的办法。把钱花在信息产业升级是个很流行的做法。很多国家都在这么做。就中国的情况而言，向3G升级的决定是非常合理的。中国市场和手机用户现在对于3G网络的需求很大，这是电信技术发展的最新趋势。”
中国工业和信息化部长李毅中说，按照电信企业各自的发展规划，2009年和2010年中国预计完成3G直接投资2800亿元人民币。
中国媒体援引业内分析人士报导说，中国在2008年经历的雪灾、地震、奥运等一系列事件都在不同程度上刺激了电信运营商的建网速度。新年伊始推出的3G投资将有助于形成一条包括3G网络建设、终端设备制造、运营服务、信息服务在内的通信产业链。除了政府预计的直接投资外，3G升级有望在未来三年内拉动近两万亿元社会投资。
外商受益
里昂证券亚州电信业研究主管郑名凯对财经媒体彭博新闻社表示，包括爱利信在内的国外无线通讯设备提供商将成为中国电信产业升级的最大受益者。郑名凯估计，中国移动和中国联通将各自投资一千亿元人民币用于网络升级，中国电信将投资 800亿元。全球最大的无线设备制造商爱利信的首席执行官卡尔-亨利克·斯万伯格去年年底表示，由于中国政府即将推出3G升级计划，爱利信预计2009年在中国市场的销售业绩将有不俗表现。
三种标准角逐
行业数字显示，截至2008年1月，全球总共发放3G牌照超过210张。其中，W-CDMA的用户数量发展速度大大超过CDMA2000等其他主要标准。不过，在全球超过6亿人的3G用户当中，CDMA2000用户超过了三分之二。在包括美国、欧洲、日本等主要电信市场普遍采用这两种标准的同时，中国政府把国内自主研发的TD-SCDMA业务经营许可颁发给目前全球市值最大的电信企业中国移动。
福布斯杂志的分析文章指出，和主导全球的W-CDMA制式相比，TD-SCDMA在安装和维护方面将更加昂贵。该杂志因此认为，中国移动在采用TD-SCDMA标准过程中承受的额外负担将有助于优化中国国内电信产业的竞争结构。
民族主义和国家安全
不过，华盛顿智库国际与战略研究中心技术和公共政策项目主任路易斯(James Lewis)对于中国政府的升级3G的产业布局做出不同解读。他说：
“中国的信息产业政策始终带有一种民族主义成分。其主要目的是保护中国自主研发的知识产权不受国外竞争的冲击。所以，3G牌照以这种形式发放并不奇怪。此外，由于TD-SCDMA是北京唯一完全掌控的3G标准，因此这个决定也有国家安全的考虑。”
中国移动发表声明说，3G牌照发放后，中国具有核心知识产权的TD-SCDMA的发展将进入一个新的阶段。中国移动表示，已经在2008年末完成了TD-SCDMA与2G网的融合工程。
用户激增还是考验重重?
麦格里集团驻香港的亚太地区电信市场研究主管蒂姆·斯马特预计，按照中国政府目前的构想，中国的3G用户将在未来三年内激增至一亿零三百万人。
不过，国际与战略研究中心技术和公共政策项目主任路易斯指出，尽管中国无线通讯网络升级已经正式启动，但和美国、欧洲、日本、澳大利亚等市场相比，3G技术在中国发展还面临时间、政策以及消费者信心等多重考验。尤其是受到经济减速的影响，中国今年的电信行业从整体上看增速将比2008年放慢。

Sony Ericsson Shows Off 3G Slider Phone

Sony Ericsson has shown off a new 3G slider phone - the G705. The handset comes with built in aGPS, Wi-Fi, HSDPA and 3.2 megapixel camera.
"The G705 is ideal for those who need a bit of help organising their busy life." said Catherine Cherry, Global product marketing manager at Sony Ericsson. "This life-enhancing phone has everything you need to keep track of your daily activities and is perfect for keeping in touch with friends. It also allows you to stay fully up-to-date thanks to the full HTML browser, email support, and desktop RSS feeds - all delivered at turbo 3G speeds."

Also announced today is the G705u, the first UMA enabled phone from Sony Ericsson. UMA enables users to seamlessly roam between the mobile network and local area networks thanks to GSM/Wi-Fi dual capabilities. The G705u is exclusive to the operator Orange in its territories.

In addition, Sony Ericsson is pleased to today announce a partnership with Google meaning that YouTube will be integrated into selected upcoming models from Sony Ericsson. This capability will allow users to instantly download and upload video directly from their phone to YouTube. The G705 will be YouTube compatible and further models will be announced at a later stage.

The G705 and G705u (exclusive to Orange) support GSM/GPRS/EDGE 850/900/1800/1900 and UMTS/HSDPA 2100. G705 will be available in selected markets from early Q4.

The G705 will also be available in a version for American markets supporting networks GSM/GPRS/EDGE 850/900/1800/1900 and UMTS/HSUPA 850/1900/2100. G705 for American markets will be available early Q1 2009.

Posted to the site on 9th September 2008

China market: TD-SCDMA user base expected to hit 13 million in 2011

17 January 2008]
TD-SCDMA, China's self-developed 3G mobile communication standard, will come into commercial operation in China in 2008 and the number of subscribers is expected to grow quickly to 13.0 million in 2011, according to China-based consulting company Analysys International.

Standard TD-SCDMA
M units
2007 0

2008 0.2

2009 3.0

2010 6.4

2011 13.0

HTC mulls adding additional 3G chipset supplier

3 Jan 2008

High Tech Computer (HTC) is evaluating the possibility of adding a 3G chipset solution supplier in addition to Qualcomm so as to reduce the risk of relying on a single supply source, according to company CFO Hui-ming Cheng.
HTC was annoyed by recent media reports stating that concerns of a possible shortage of 3G chipsets at Qualcomm may affect HTC's revenues in the first quarter of 2008 and that Qualcomm's recent defeats in patent lawsuits against Broadcom has undermined the willingness of some telecom operators in North America to purchase Qualcomm-based handsets from HTC, said sources in Taiwan's handset industry.
In addition to costs, HTC will also take into account the maturity of hardware platforms and other considerations before adopting a new chipset solution, said Cheng, noting that the company is unlikely to switch to other hardware platforms in a short period of time.
Cheng also stated that the chipset shortages in the fourth quarter of 2007 might have resulted from over-bookings by handset vendors due to fast migration to 3G handsets in the global market, and so there won't be dramatic fluctuations of HTC's revenues in the first quarter of 2008.
Although handsets supporting 3G/3.5G standards will account for 70-80% of HTC's handset shipments in 2008, HTC will continue to manufacture the mainstream 2G/2.5G handsets for emerging markets where 3G infrastructure has not been installed, Cheng said.

Asustek to officially ink 3G licensing agreement with Qualcomm soon

25 Oct, 2007
Asustek Computer should free itself from any 3G chip patent disputes for upcoming 3G handsets as the company will soon ink a related licensing agreement with Qualcomm, according to industry sources.

Asustek has been extending its presence to 3G for several years, but the company and Qualcomm have not established a consensus over a possible cross-licensing as Asustek itself owns some 3G chip intellectual property (IP), the sources explained.

Despite that Asustek only started volume producing 3G handsets in late 2006, the relatively early deployment of the company in this sector has helped the company accumulate about over 90 technological innovations that are recognized by the 3GPP. More than 30 of these items may even be classed as "core IP", the sources noted.

According to estimates from the Technology Transfer Center (TTC) of Taiwan, the number of 3G patents that Asustek holds exceeds 130 in Taiwan – an amount that only Taiwan's Industrial Technology Research Institute (ITRI) surpasses.

Asustek's rivals, which include BenQ and Qisda, Gigabyte Communications, High Tech Computer (HTC), Inventec Appliances and Mobinnova, have all adopted 3G solutions from Qualcomm for their handset offerings, with licensing fees reaching several million US dollars.

Asustek currently utilizes 3G solutions from Marvell and Ericsson Mobile Platforms (EMP).

Taiwan market: Sales of BenQ-branded handsets hit high in September

2 Oct, 2007

BenQ sold more than 10,000 own-brand 3G handsets in Taiwan in September, bringing the company's total branded handset shipments for the month in Taiwan to over 33,000 units, the highest level for BenQ-branded handsets for nearly a year, according to Hank Hung, general manager of BenQ Taiwan.
Brisk sales of the company's E81 3G handsets helped push up the shipment volume, Hung noted.
For the first nine months of 2007, BenQ's handset shipments reached 70% of a target of 300,000 units for the year, Hung stated.
BenQ plans to launch one to two 3G or multimedia handsets by the end of this year in addition to the T51, T33 and E72 launched on October 1, Hung added.
BenQ also plans to introduce its first MID (mobile Internet device) product in Taiwan in 2008 and to distribute the device through notebook and handset channels as well as telecom carriers, Hung said.