• Most Popular
  • Most Shared

China approves long-awaited 3G licences

Wed Dec 31, 2008 4:18am EST

Stocks

   

BEIJING, Dec 31 (Reuters) - China's state council, or cabinet, said on Wednesday it had approved the issuance of long-awaited licences for next generation (3G) mobile networks, opening the door to $41 billion in spending for equipment.

Stocks  |  China

Licences will be issued for TD-SCDMA, a standard backed by Beijing, and two globally accepted standards, WCDMA and CDMA 2000, the cabinet said on the central government website www.gov.cn.

The website did not specify which companies were awarded specific licences. However, the government had said earlier this month that China Mobile (0941.HK) would get a licence for TD-SCDMA, China Unicom (0762.HK) one for a WCDMA network and China Telecom (0728.HK) one for CDMA 2000 technology.

China's state-run firms have already spent billions of dollars to develop TD-SCDMA to promote domestic industries and avoid expensive royalties demanded by the foreign firms that control the patents behind the global standards, WCDMA and CDMA 2000. ($=6.83 yuan) (Reporting by Kirby Chien; Editing by Kim Coghill)



More from Reuters

Protestors wait outside the U.S. Capitol as the U.S. Senate prepares to vote on U.S. President Barack Obama's healthcare overhaul in Washington

States take aim to block plan

As the Congress once again rallies to pass healthcare reform legislation, momentum is growing in many states to pass laws to block the changes.   Full Article 

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi gestures as she addresses her weekly news conference with Capitol Hill reporters, March 19, 2010. REUTERS/Hyungwon Kang

Momentum on healthcare bill

Democratic leaders pushed undecided House members for support and voiced growing confidence they will win a close vote on the sweeping overhaul.  Full Article | Video 

 A campsite at a homeless tent city in Sacramento California March 15, 2009. REUTERS/ Max Whittaker
John Kemp:

Be careful what you wish for

The yuan debate is exposing dangerous illiteracy among policymakers: Despite the jobs boost for Americans, it would also cut our living standards. How?  Commentary