Asia Pacific Market
Asia Pacific Market

Asia Pacific Market

China Gearing Up for 3G Video

Alcatel Shanghai Bell (ASB), Alcatel’s joint venture in Shanghai, is close to wrapping up a deal with a domestic company to develop TD-SCDMA, the Chinese homegrown 3G standard, according to Monday’s China Daily. The company signed an agreement with Shanghai Media Group (SMG) last week in Shanghai to jointly develop video applications. “Multimedia services will be a key element for the success of 3G. The co-operation with SMG will strengthen our leading position in that particular area,” said Gerard Dega, president of ASB.

LG Exporting Tri-Band Phone to US

LG Electronics announced Thursday that it will provide its handsets to the largest GSM operator of the US, Cingular. According to LG Electronics, it will export Tri-band GPRS camera phone (L1200) that can provide roaming service between the US and Europe and super-small-sized dual band GPRS color phone (C1300).

Korea Considers MVNO Boost for 3G

Korea plans to introduce the “mobile virtual network operator” model to their local telecom industry, with the objective of stimulating market competition and generating new revenue streams through the expansion of data-based services in the industry’s transition to 3G. The Ministry of Information and Communication and the state-run Korea Information Strategy Development Institute began a joint research project last week to discuss the direction and phasing in of MVNO.

Korea to Combine Fixed & Mobile Services

KT Corp., the country’s largest fixed-line and broadband carrier, has been granted a license for its “One-Phone” services, allowing customers to use both fixed-line and mobile phones with one device, the Information and Communication Ministry said yesterday. Inbound fixed-line phone calls will transit automatically to the mobile handset when the user is inside the house or office.

LG Electronics' Vision for 3G

LG Electronics announced its vision of “Global Top 3 by 2006,” a vision to rank among the top three handset makers in the world, on June 4 in the presence of 2006 employees. LG plans to run global R&D centers in China, Europe, then in North America, Asia/Central Asia and Latin America. The company integrated GSM and CDMA handset units into one business group as of June 1st, and is gearing up for the launch of their one-chip, dual-mode “world phone” integrating CDMA and GSM.

NEC Going for 3G Broke in China

Don’t say we haven’t mentioned this one before, but the good ol Brit boys (and girls) at The Reg have spotted that NEC is targeting China for 3G phones. Here it is from the horse’s mouth: NEC is setting up a new company in China with the primary goal of developing the Chinese 3G mobile market. The company, facing declining sales in Japan, believes China will be a vital new growth area particularly in 3G.