瑞信：中国电信行业分析

TD-SCDMA takes centre stage at Beijing’s 16th PT/Expo Comm conference

We recently attended the PT/Expo Comm China 2007 in Beijing. The event
is sponsored by the Ministry of Information Industry (MII) and showcases
the latest developments and products of the mobile communication
industry in China. TD-SCDMA has clearly taken centre stage with
increasing display of what’s to come from the equipment and handset
manufacturers. In this report, we show some of the latest working
handsets that we tested. China Netcom and China Mobile remain our
preferred picks within the sector.
TD-SCDMA grabs attention. Consistent with our recently published report, TDSCDMA
to lead in China’s 3G world, dated 3 October 2007, there is strong
momentum behind the home-grown technology as the number of exhibitors and
booths has increased substantially, compared to previous conferences. With so
much attention on TD-SCDMA, we maintain the view that 3G licensing could be
further delayed, but this should not affect the decision on industry restructuring.
More varieties of TD-SCDMA handsets. We were encouraged to see an
increasing number of TD-SCDMA handsets (including dual mode) displayed.
The form factor of the handsets has also sharply improved and resembles much
to the current WCDMA handsets available in the market. There were also more
demonstrations and testing booths to allow visitors to test the TD-SCDMA
handset data and voice capabilities. The handset makers that we spoke with
suggested that we should be able to see many more TD-SCDMA handsets in
the market next year and at affordable price. We tested some of the handsets
and were generally satisfied with the video call and other functionalities.
Evolution to 4G TD-SCDMA LTE. There is also a lot of buzz relating to the
evolution path of TD-SCDMA to 4G. Some of the larger Chinese equipment
vendors expect small scale commercial launch of TD-SCDMA HSPA service in
2009 and full commercial launch of LTE (4G standard) by 2011.