"Our research shows that Chinese multimedia mobile communications service users will increase five-fold from the current 10 million in four years," said Peter A. Borger, president of Siemens Shanghai Mobile Communications Ltd., at the ongoing CeBIT Asia 2001 show.

"The market will be a key part in our strategy of remaining one of the top three in the world's communication industry," he said.

A major Siemens' Chinese project was the development of the 3G mobile communications standard TD-SCDMA, or time division-synchronize code division multiple access standard.

Three years after Siemens teamed up with Datang Telecom Technology and Industry Group on the patent project, a model mobile communications system was produced in July. Siemens displayed wireless voice and picture transmission based on TD-SCDMA at CeBIT.

TD-SCDMA standard is considered an economic choice for China and many European countries interested in upgrading their current GSM networks - global systems for mobile communications networks - to 3G, the third generation of mobile communications.

Compared to W-CDMA, or wide-band CDMA, TD-SCDMA standard provides better support for Internet access and data transmission, while W-CDMA provides better support for multimedia functions on 3G handsets.

"We have already spent more than US$200 million on the research and development of TD-SCDMA," Borger said. "At least US$300 million more will be invested before it is put into commercial use in 2005."

That does not mean Siemens will give up competing in other 3G standards market, the company said.

"I think both TD-SCDMA and W-CDMA standards will exist in 3G mobile communications," Borger said. "Handsets will be connected to networks of different standards according to the functions required at the moment."

Second generation technology standards like GSM and GPRS, or general packet radio services, Borger said, will remain on the market.

Because of their cheaper price, people will still use them for transmitting voice and simple data information.

Siemens said it will continue to develop new GSM-based services. Its GSM system for use in internal company communications is brought to CeBIT Asia to demonstrate how they can reduce internal communications expenses.

(Eastday 08/09/2001)