MIIT will continue to refuse to test phones that have Wi-Fi capability.
Beijing. April 24. INTERFAX-CHINA - The Ministry of Industry and Information Technology (MIIT) has allowed mobile phone manufacturers to integrate China's homegrown WAPI (WLAN Authentication and Privacy Infrastructure) standard into their handsets, a source at a domestic handset manufacturer told Interfax on April 22.
The source, who asked to not be identified, said that MIIT told a number of handset manufacturers on April 17 that both 2G and 3G handsets are now allowed to have integrated WAPI technology to allow users to access wireless broadband.
However, the ministry has not changed its stance on Wi-Fi (Wireless Fidelity), the globally recognized competitor to WAPI, and continues to bar its implementation in handsets.
"Mobile phones with WAPI can now be submitted to MIIT's labs for testing and, if they pass, can then be awarded network access licenses," the source said. "However, MIIT will continue to refuse to test phones that have Wi-Fi capability."
China Telecom and Haier launched the world's first 3G CDMA2000/WAPI dual mode smartphone on April 22. The smartphone will be included in the range of handsets under China Telecom's 3G CDMA service brand, eSurfing.
A source at Chinese handset manufacturer Yulong Computer Telecommunication Scientific (Shenzhen) Co. Ltd., the maker of Coolpad brand handsets, told Interfax on the same day that the company will also launch a 3G CDMA2000/WAPI dual mode smartphone in May.
The source at Yulong said that CDMA2000/WAPI dual mode smartphones would reach the market sooner than TD-SCDMA/WAPI and WCDMA/WAPI phones as China Telecom, the operator of CDMA 3G services in China, had released its 3G plus mobile Internet strategy before China Mobile and China Unicom. The source said handsets combining WAPI with the other two standards will reach the market soon afterwards.
Interfax commentary: This move scuppers any hopes that MIIT is likely to ease its attitude towards the implementation of Wi-Fi in the near future. It will also impact on operators developing 3G/Wi-Fi dual strategies, particularly China Unicom, which is seeking to introduce the Wi-Fi enabled iPhone to China. Until MIIT relaxes its attitude towards Wi-Fi, more foreign companies will start developing WAPI technology to grasp market share in China. However, widespread international distrust of the security measures implemented in WAPI mean that major foreign markets will continue to shun the standard. Overall, the outlawing of Wi-Fi handsets is another in a long line of self-defeating protectionist policies by the government.
The Beijing Olympics provided Lenovo with a marketing narrative to introduce its products to Russia, and now Lenovo Russia's GM, Bai Yuli, aims to increase the computer maker's market share in Russia's dynamic urban markets. Bai discusses the company's convergence strategy for 2010 with Interfax.
