CDMA2000 BRINGS 3G SERVICES TO CHINA ON A MASSIVE SCALE.

At the inaugural CDMA World Forum, the CDMA Development Group (CDG) has commented that new 3G wireless voice and mobile broadband service offerings in China are poised to rapidly replace fixed-line solutions, exemplified by subscriber adoption of China Telecom's CDMA2000 1X and EV-DO Revision A (Rev. A) mobile broadband services. China Telecom is now offering fixed and mobile broadband data services under its "e-surfing" brand, in addition to its existing CDMA2000(r) 1X voice and data services. The operator has already launched 3G CDMA mobile broadband services in more than 120 cities, with plans to cover 324 cities nationwide by July 2009. By catering to its long-standing enterprise relationships, leveraging its large existing fixed-line customer base and focusing on offering mobile Internet services, China Telecom added 6.8 million CDMA2000 customers in the first four months of 2009 to reach a total of 34.71 million CDMA subscribers.

"China Telecom is showing market leadership through its commitment to bringing 3G CDMA services to China and communicating the value of CDMA2000 voice and mobile broadband services to the Chinese consumer," said Perry LaForge, executive director of the CDG. "A wide selection of affordable 3G CDMA devices is helping China Telecom realize phenomenal subscriber growth, as it leverages the CDMA2000 network to offer wireless voice and broadband data services to both new and existing customers."

Since the restructuring of China's telecom industry in 2008, the country's three wireless operators have been investing heavily in 3G networks across three technologies. China Mobile plans to invest US$8.6 billion to expand its TD-SCDMA network in 2009, while China Unicom plans to put US$5.6 billion into its recently-launched WCDMA network this year. China Telecom has announced it plans to spend more than US$11.7 billion on CDMA network expansion and optimization over the next three years, while procuring 55 million CDMA2000 handsets in 2009 to support this rapid growth.

The China Ministry of Industry and Information Technology (MIIT) expects 3G wireless subscribers in the country to exceed 500 million within the next 3 years, as affordable mobile broadband services replace fixed-line Internet services and expand to rural areas. Furthermore, an MIIT report predicts that Chinese CDMA subscribers will experience a 30.6% compound annual growth rate over the next 4 years, and that EV-DO subscribers will account for 41.1% of China's ...