China's top telecoms carriers displayed next-generation products and services during the China International Industry Fair yesterday. It was the first time telecoms firms have showcased their products since the industry reorganization announcement earlier this year.
Carriers, such as China Telecom and China Unicom, exhibited 3G and fixed-mobile convergence services, such as mobile video monitoring and family gateway systems that allow users to access the Internet through their televisions.
China Telecom, which acquired China Unicom's code division multiple access (CDMA) network under the reorganization, unveiled its mobile services under the brand Surfing (Tianyi in Chinese).
China Telecom also said it has expanded its video-monitoring services to work on mobile phones.
"People can use it to monitor babies or elderly relatives and control the cameras through phone handsets," said an official at the China Telecom booth.
China Telecom also displayed enhanced 3G networks with a peak speed that will enable users to download three songs in a second.
Handset-based music and TV services, wireless data cards and mobile Internet will become the most profitable sectors for the company in the 3G era, said Shi Chengbin, an official at China Unicom's Shanghai branch.
China announced the industry re°?organization in the middle of this year. As part of the moves, China Unicom merged its GSM business with China Netcom, and China Telecom acquired China Unicom's CDMA business.
China, the world's largest mobile phone market, is now expected to issue its first batch of 3G licenses.
China Unicom displayed its Wideband CDMA services for family users, which will allow users to access the Internet through TVs or phone handsets. Once 3G licenses are granted, China Unicom will be able to upgrade GSM to WCDMA in Shanghai within two to three months, according to the company. China Mobile also displayed home-grown 3G TD-SCDMA services at the show. By the end of last month, more than 20,000 TD-SCDMA data cards, which allow laptop users to access the Internet wirelessly, had been sold in Shanghai, according to China Mobile.
(Shanghai Daily November 5, 2008)
