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To procure 55 million CDMA phones next year sounds like a very aggressive plan and unlikely to be carried out.
Shanghai. September 16. INTERFAX-CHINA - China Telecommunications Corp. (China Telecom) intends to procure 55 million CDMA mobile phones in 2009, Chinese media reported on Sept. 16, citing a senior company official.
Yang Xiaowei, deputy general manager of China Telecom, was quoted by Sina.com as saying at the recent 2008 China CDMA Industry Development Forum in Guangdong Province that China Telecom's headquarters will continue to centralize the procurement of CDMA mobile phones, and the company will procure 55 million CDMA mobile phones in 2009.
China Telecom will also push for support for Web browsing, push mail and WLAN (wireless local area network) functionalities on CDMA phones and encourage vendors to switch their focus from low-cost CDMA phones to mid-range and high-end phones, he said. There are now approximately 30 manufacturers capable of supplying CDMA mobile phones.
"To procure 55 million CDMA phones next year sounds like a very aggressive plan and unlikely to be carried out. China Telecom is probably just saying that to give vendors confidence," Will Kong, an analyst from iSuppli Asia Ltd., told Interfax.
China Telecom, the largest fixed-line operator in China, is taking over the CDMA business of China Unicom under a government-mandated telecom industry restructure.
To procure 55 million CDMA mobile phones next year means China Telecom aims to gain approximately 55 million new CDMA subscribers in the year, or approximately 5 million subscribers each month, Kong said. "This is very ambitious - close to China Mobile's monthly subscriber addition," he said.
Currently, China Mobile gains about 7 million new subscribers each month and China Unicom gains about 1 million.
In preparation for its CDMA business, China Telecom recently procured 5 million CDMA mobile phones from manufacturers including Samsung Electronics, LG Electronics, Motorola Inc., ZTE Corp., Yulong Computer Telecommunications Scientific (Shenzhen) Co. Ltd. and Hisense Electric Co. Ltd.
China Telecom has announced plans to increase the CDMA network's subscriber base from 42 million to 100 million over the next two to three years. The company aims to gain a 15 percent share of China's mobile service market and to make its CDMA business profitable in three years.
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