ABI: TD-SCDMA Surfaces into Commercial Daylight
July 2, 2008 // Published as a news service by IHS
After years of R&D and many trials conducted by China Mobile, the third generation (3G) time division - synchronous code division multiple access (TD-SCDMA) service made an April 2008 soft launch in eight cities, including Beijing, Shanghai, Tianjin, Guangzhou and Shenzhen.
"Though China's government has yet to issue its 3G licenses and telecom restructuring is still ongoing, TD-SCDMA is now live," said ABI Research analyst Hwai Lin Khor.
According to ABI Research, China Mobile also opened TD-SCDMA "experience shops" in these major cities to allow the public to experiment with TD-SCDMA handsets and gain confidence with TD-SCDMA's capabilities, in the hopes of attracting subscribers.
In order to make TD-SCDMA service an incremental upgrade from existing subscriptions, analysts said China Mobile is charging TD-SCDMA subscribers monthly subscription fees of 50 renminbi (RMB), or $7 per month, and 0.6 RMB, or 9 cents per minute, for video calls, while mobile Internet usage will be based on a flat rate with a capped usage plan.
Charges for voice calls, short messaging service (SMS), multimedia messaging service (MMS) and additional data traffic are maintained at the same rate as existing plans. Analysts said value-added services already available for second and a half generation (2.5G) subscribers, including a wireless music club, mobile newspaper and mobile wallet, are also accessible to TD-SCDMA subscribers at the same rate but with an improved user experience.
"China Mobile is planning to roll out 3G-specific services such as mobile TV, video sharing applications, video conferencing, etc. progressively during 2008," said Hwai. "ABI Research believes this price plan and service package will attract existing young subscribers to make the switch."
During this initial launch, 60,000 dual-mode TD-SCDMA/ global system for mobile communication (GSM) handsets and 15,000 data cards will be on sale in China Mobile's TD-SCDMA experience shops, from popular brands such Samsung, LG Electronics, Hisense, Lenovo, Zhong Xing Telecommunication Equipment Company (ZTE) and Postcom.
Analysts said these handsets are in the mid- to high-end range with built-in camera, wide screen and extensive multimedia applications. China Mobile is selling these phones for subsidized prices of 2,000 RMB ($286) - 4,000 RMB ($572).
"Now is when the real test kicks in, gauging TD-SCDMA's performance under conditions of mass and varied mobility usage," Hwai said.
Source: ABI Research.