Chinese, Taiwanese Reach Consensus at Cross-Strait TD-SCDMA Forum
July 08, 2005
Dogged by recent news on the poor showing of TD-SCDMA in recent tests, Chinese players have stepped up efforts to work with Taiwanese companies on commercializing the technology before the end of 2005. A cross-strait forum held in Beijing on July 5 was attended Chinese players from all segments of the chain, including chipmakers T3G, Spreadtrum, and Commit, handset vendors Lenovo, Hisense, and Putian, equipment suppliers ZTE and Datang, as well as operators China Mobile, China Unicom, and China Railcom. Taiwanese players included DBtel, Inventec, Compal Communications, Asus, and Sunplus.
Agreements reached at the meeting included the establishment of communication channels between both sides, allowing for exchange and consensus building every three months on technological, market, and industry issues. The parties also agreed on the necessity for the joint development of TD-SCDMA in order to greatly lower IP fees. Furthermore, Chinese officials are allowing Taiwanese players to collaborate on value-added services and content provision, relaxing the long-standing prohibition on foreign investment into telecommunications services. Networks in Taiwan are also expected to serve as a test bed for TD-SCDMA before working to drive wider adoption of the standard in Southeast Asian nations.