SEOUL, South Korea-As part of the Chinese government’s telecommunications modernization project, Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd. was awarded the first-ever commercial contract in China.
The agreement, with Hebei Century Mobile Communications Co. Ltd., calls for Samsung to build a Code Division Multiple Access mobile communication system in the province of Hebei with a population of 66 million people.
Four major test networks have been in operation in China since 1996 as part of the government’s modernization project. Century Mobile tested the four networks run by Samsung, in Shanghai; Motorola Inc., in Beijing; Lucent Technologies Inc., in Gwangzhou; and Northern Telecom, in Xian, and found Samsung’s the most stable and reliable.
Last May, Samsung concluded a contract with Hebei mobile telecommunication bureau to supply $31 million worth of equipment for the Hebei region, and with the new commercial service in the region, Samsung expects follow-up orders valued at more than $200 million. Samsung forecasts an increased demand for handsets in China with orders reaching $300 million in the second half of the year.
