Even while two major third-generation protocols, CDMA2000 and W-CDMA, snap up the spotlight in China, the nation’s homegrown technology will not eat humble pie.
The protocol was upgraded into an alliance last October, and the group announced that it will add five new members by the end of the year, making the TD-SCDMA Alliance not only a coalition of local players but also of international interests.
The alliance is attracting more companies than it is ready to accommodate at this time. “We have singled them out from 17 applicants this year to strengthen our alliance,” Yang Hua, secretary-general of the TD-SCDMA Alliance, was quoted as saying. “But we are not going to name the five companies until the end of the year.”
Some of the existing members of the alliance include GTE, Huawei Technologies, Datang, Legend China Electronic Corp. and China Putian.
The new entrants are expected to include foreign companies and joint ventures. Siemens AG is one company that is expected to join, although that has not been confirmed.
“Of course we have contact with the alliance,” said Siemens spokesman Jacob Rice in response to RCR Wireless News inquiries. “We welcome the addition of further members to the alliance, as this increases the number of players directly involved in TD-SCDMA, a key to the technology’s success.”
Siemens has been one of the major foreign players working with Datang to develop the protocol since 1999.
Other foreign companies with an interest include Motorola Inc., Tektronix Inc., Panasonic, UTStarcom and Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd. Lucent Technologies Inc. is one of the few vendors not involved in TD-SCDMA, but the company is focusing on CDMA2000 and Wideband CDMA.
“We did a study of it two years ago, and we found out it was a very good technology,” said Rose Miller, director of China business development at Lucent, but added that her company decided to focus on the more dominant technologies.
Siemens said it has invested more than $170 million so far in the technology. In August, Siemens announced a future joint venture with Datang that will attract another $100 million from both players.
Much of the momentum for the technology awaits the Chinese government, which has yet to issue licenses to operators. Spectrum was allocated in favor of TDD, time division duplex, last year on the 155 MHz band. When the technology launches, it may be on the FDD band, which stands for frequency division duplex. But the government also is expected to allocate the 260 MHz band to TDD.
“Initially, it will be FDD,” noted Findlay Shearer, contributor to technical platform marketing in Motorola’s semiconductor division, adding it will become available later on TDD. He said he expects the FDD to launch by 2005, while the TDD services will go commercial between 2006 and 2007.
Shearer said TD-SCDMA gives more choices to operators in the Chinese market, with both W-CDMA and CDMA2000 already seen as the dominant options.
“It is not clear if you will be successful with TD-SCDMA,” remarked Shearer, adding that the carriers are working on all the technologies. “Cost and economy of scale will play a role in the decisions of the carriers.”
Analysts think that with the huge population, even a fraction of the market will give the technology a lease on life.
Miller said both lab tests for UMTS and CDMA2000 have been completed, and her company was involved in them. Field testing is the current phase with the more popular systems. TD-SCDMA is still undergoing lab testing.
Rice said, “W-CDMA/TD-SCDMA can build upon the network infrastructures of GSM/GPRS in a cost-effective manner.”
