The third-generation (3G) mobile phone service is ready for use in the upcoming Beijing Olympics as the high-speed wireless connection service and related products were formally delivered on Monday. China Mobile, China’s top wireless operator, and South Korean cell phone producer Samsung presented 15,000 3G handsets, plus data cards and nearly 3 million yuan (about 428,600 U.S. dollars) of calling fees, to the Beijing Organizing Committee for the 29th Olympic Games here on Monday.
With the offer, work staff and volunteers of the Games can enjoy high-speed data transmissions, which allow them to watch televised games, play videos, and surf the Internet on cell phones.
The service is based on the Chinese 3G standard, known as TD-SCDMA (Time Division Synchronous Code Division Multiple Access).
China Mobile has basically finished construction of the TD-SCDMA network in eight cities, five of which are to host events for the Beijing Olympics in August, including Beijing, Shanghai and Tianjin, said the company.
China has promised to provide 3G service for the Games. China Mobile is the sole cooperative partner for the Beijing Olympics in mobile communications services while Samsung is the only one in mobile terminal supply.
China Mobile started the commercial trials of 3G services in the country in April.
The International Telecommunication Union recognized TD-SCDMA as one of the world’s three official 3G standards in 2000. The other two are Europe’s WCDMA and North America’s CDMA 2000.
SOFTBANK and Vodafone have agreed to establish a Joint Innovation Lab (JIL)
to promote the development of new mobile technologies, applications and
services. The three companies expect the initiative will help to accelerate
the commercial deployment of mobile internet services.
The three companies will use the JIL as a platform to develop mobile
services and drive innovation and synergy in the industry to the benefit of
their combined global customer base. The JIL will launch projects based on
emerging technologies and market demand.
The JIL will focus on the rapidly growing areas of mobile internet
services, such as mobile widgets*. Initially, the JIL plans to develop a
platform for mobile widgets to encourage the development of innovative new
services that can leverage mobile operators’ unique capabilities. The JIL
also welcomes the co-operation of vendors and developers in the creation of
new applications and services.
This move is expected to enable different widgets and applications to
run seamlessly on different handset platforms and operating systems across
different mobile operators, while safeguarding customer security, data
privacy and billing systems. The development of a widget platform is
expected to benefit both developers and users.
The establishment of the JIL and completion is subject to regulatory
approvals and certain customary closing conditions.
* NOTE: A widget is a highly functional, small, web-based application that
gives customers access to useful services.
About China Mobile Limited
China Mobile Limited is the world’s largest mobile operator with more
than 392 million subscribes (as of March 31, 2008). China Mobile Limited
has been a leading player in the mobile communications industry. In 10
years, China Mobile Limited has established a world class mobile network
with over 300,000 base stations, providing premium coverage and customer
services. It ranks the first in the world in terms of network scale and
subscriber base. For more information, please visit
http://www.chinamobileltd.com .
About SOFTBANK
SOFTBANK GROUP offers its customers a range of services including
mobile communications, broadband infrastructure, fixed-line
telecommunications, internet culture, e-Commerce, and others. SOFTBANK
MOBILE achieved the No. 1 position in net additions for FY 2007 in Japanese
market, with a total of 18,586,200 subscribers as of March 2008. For more
information, please visit http://www.softbank.co.jp .
About Vodafone
Vodafone is the world’s leading international mobile communications
group with over 252 million proportionate customers as at 31st December
2007. Vodafone currently has equity interests in 25 countries across five
continents and a further 41 partner networks worldwide. For more
information, please visit http://www.vodafone.com .