Telecoms operators from South Korea and Japan made their debut to Chinese customers at last week's PT/Wireless & Networks Comm China 2001, the biannual telecoms show in Beijing, and hoping to begin business soon.
Besides telecoms equipment vendors like Samsung and Panasonic, telecoms carriers from the two countries, Korea Telecom, SK Telecom and NTT DoCoMo, also had booths and displayed their services to over 200,000 visiting Chinese customers.
"We are making preparations for operations in the Chinese market, which is presently closed to us, but it will open after China enters the World Trade Organization," said a spokeswoman from NTT DoCoMo, the largest mobile telecoms carrier in Japan.
"We want customers to recognize our name first," she said.
Since China Unicom, the country's second biggest mobile telecoms carrier, started to construct the country's first CDMA (code division multiple access) network earlier this year, operators in Japan and South Korea have targeted the network as their entrance to China, as they were quick to adopt the CDMA technology and have relatively more experience in operating such networks.
CDMA is a counterpart technology with GSM (global system for mobile communications), which is supporting China's 130 million mobile phone users.
As the mobile phone penetration rate is not yet 10 per cent in China, the CDMA network of China Unicom is very much upbeat by industry insiders as CDMA has many advantages compared with GSM, like lower radiation and higher voice quality.
Because of different technology modes and strict policy stipulations, operators from South Korea and Japan have for a long time been refused by the Chinese market.
"When the opportunity comes we will not let it go," said Hyun-Oh Yoo, vice-president of SK Telecom's wireless Internet strategy department.
SK Telecom, the present biggest CDMA carrier in the world with 15 million subscribers, has formed a strategic alliance with China Unicom.
Although no financial deals were involved in the agreement, SK Telecom would get much feedback from China Unicom after its CDMA network operations begin early next year, said the official.
"China Unicom will soon surpass SK Telecom to become the biggest CDMA carrier, we hope to enter this market as soon as possible," he said.
SK Telecom is now helping to train China Unicom's engineering and marketing staff in South Korea. "These people will bring our experience and technology to Chinese customers," Yoo said.
SK Telecom formed a joint venture with China's Internet game maker, Game King, to jointly develop games for the mobile Internet, which customers can play on their mobile phones.
The company recently also signed contracts with carriers in Viet Nam and Mongolia, China's neighbouring countries in the south and north, to help them adopt CDMA technology.
With more and more carriers beginning to adopt CDMA, the roaming ability will be upgraded and customers could use their CDMA phones in more countries.
Korea Telecom, a state-run telephone and Internet company in South Korea, also attracted attention from Chinese visitors in its first ever show here.
KTF, the mobile subsidiary of Korea Telecom and the country's second largest mobile service provider, announced during the show that it had formed a strategic partnership with three Chinese telecoms companies in a deal valued at US$20 million, according to South Korea media.
KTF signed the pact with handset maker CEC Telecom, a subsidiary of China Electronic Corp, telecoms gear maker Jin Peng Group and Internet company GreaTom, a joint venture between China's Great Wall Group and Hong Kong-based Tom.com and engaged in Internet services, online games and wireless portals.
Under the deal, KTF will set up a joint venture with CEC Telecom for CDMA handset production and co-operate with the Jin Peng Group in the field of networking and wireless multimedia services, according to a report from Korea Herald.
The deals came after KTF formed a broad-based partnership with China Unicom, an initial step into the fast-growing Chinese wireless market.
KTF and CEC Telecom will set up a handset-making joint venture with an annual production capacity of 2 million units, according to the report.
Compared with the South Korean operators, NTT DoCoMo seemed to lag behind. "We are also keeping close contact with some Chinese companies for potential co-operation yet no final decision has been made," said the spokeswoman of NTT DoCoMo.
According to China Unicom's plan, the CDMA network will finish construction before November and will begin trial operations early next year. The project has become the focus of international telecoms operators and equipment vendors.
China Unicom's business is also expected to become an engine for global CDMA equipment manufacturers. Mobile telecoms carriers, especially those from South Korea and Japan, are eagerly waiting outside the Chinese door. When the door opens, they will not only be partners of domestic carriers but also of harsh competitors.
(China Daily November 6, 2001)
