The rapidly changing mobile landscape is creating some interesting challenges for China Mobile (HKEx: 941; NYSE: CHL), which is finally seeing its 3G market share stabilize as it reportedly may be weighing a bid to buy out the partner for its fading Fetion mobile messaging service. The 3G news is clearly the more important in this pair of news bits, and probably reflects a combination of factors that should bode well for China Mobile as Beijing gets set to issue new 4G licenses. Meanwhile, the latter rumors involving Fetion is probably more wishful thinking from Fetion’s current owners, who would like to get some money for their instant messaging platform which is rapidly being overtaken by newer smartphone applications, most notably Tencent’s (HKEx: 700) WeChat.
Tag Archives: China Unicom
China Mobile Loses Cable War 中国移动无缘有线商机
The news wires are buzzing today with word that wireless titan China Mobile (HKEx: 941; NYSE: CHL) appears to have lost a major battle to quickly become a major player in the fixed-line broadband space by purchasing a stake in a new national cable TV operator now being formed. If the reports are true, this development certainly wouldn’t surprise me since regulators in Beijing are probably quickly tiring of listing to the constant complaints coming from China Mobile, which believes it was treated unfairly in the country’s awarding of 3G wireless licenses 3 years ago.
China Telecom Jumps Into 4G Race 中国电信加入4G争夺战
With signs growing by the day that China will issue 4G licenses quite soon, perhaps by March next year, the nation’s second and third largest carriers are sensing a sudden urgency to get ready for the roll-out and avoid a possible booby prize that either could easily receive. The 2 telcos I’m talking about of course are China Telecom (HKEx: 728; NYSE: CHA) and China Unicom (HKEx: 762; NYSE: CHU), both of which have suddenly begun trialing 4G technology in anticipation of the imminent issue of 4G licenses.
Telecoms: 4G and IPTV in, Cisco Out 中国电信行业：4G与IPTV推进 思科受阻
The headlines are buzzing with news bits from each of the country’s 3 major telcos, with high-speed services taking big steps forward even as US telecoms equipment powerhouse Cisco (Nasdaq: CSCO) could be bracing for a Chinese winter. In the former group of headlines, media are reporting that China Mobile (HKEx: 941; NYSE: CHL) has made a significant step into 4G with plans to expand its trial TD-LTE network into China’s interior, while China Telecom (HKEx: 728; NYSE CHA) has just won an important new license to offer TV and other video and data services over its fixed-line broadband network. Meantime, China Unicom (HKEx: 762; NYSE: CHU) is also making headlines with reports that the company is replacing Cisco-supplied equipment from some of its key network due to security concerns.
iPad Mini: Another China Snub; iPad Mini首发再次不含中国大陆
I’m probably beginning to sound a bit redundant by writing about Apple’s (Nasdaq: APPL) latest China snub, but it does seem worth noting that yet another major new product from the world’s biggest tech company won’t be coming to Chinese consumers anytime soon. Meantime, Chinese media are noting that Microsoft (Nasdaq: MSFT) is seeking to exploit this latest Apple snub by selecting China as one of the launch markets for its new tablet PC. Unfortunately for Microsoft, I don’t think Chinese consumers will really care very much.
Cable Consolidation Gets Money, Licenses 中国有线电视行业整合扑朔迷离
A recent flurry of new reports is hinting that a state-led consolidation of China’s fragmented cable TV industry is moving ahead, but also that the campaign may be meeting with some resistance from provincial governments reluctant to cede assets to a Beijing-based national operator. Despite that resistance, I suspect that this consolidation will probably succeed in the end since Beijing really wants it to happen. But the new operator may have to cede a lot of autonomy to its various provincial level units, meaning it could have difficulty competing with China’s 3 major telcos which have stronger central coordination.
4G: More Positive Signals 中国正在加快脚步迈向4G网络
More positive signals are emerging on China’s long march to 4G, with both the telecoms regulator and embattled networking equipment provider ZTE (HKEx: 763; Shenzhen: 000063) providing the latest signs that China could award 4G licenses much sooner than many previously thought. These new signals seem to be the latest in an accelerating trend, as China’s slow-moving telecoms regulator finally responds to pressure from industry heavyweight China Mobile (HKEx: 941; NYSE: CHL) to award 4G licenses sooner rather than later. Perhaps more importantly, the regulator could finally be realizing that its constant lateness in awarding new technology licenses is putting China’s 3 telcos at a distinct disadvantage to their global rivals, forcing the trio of China Mobile, China Unicom (HKEx: 762; NYSE: CHU) and China Telecom (HKEx: 728; NYSE: CHA) to constantly play catch-up to their more aggressive peers around the world.
Telecoms: ZTE, Apple and China Mobile 电信业：中兴、苹果和中国移动
A wide range of buzz is coming from the telecoms space, led by more reverberations from Washington’s controversial decision to lock out Huawei and ZTE (HKEx: 763; Shenzhen: 000063) from the US telecoms equipment market. China’s 3 major telcos are also making the headlines for other reasons, as they continue to jostle for position in both the 3G wireless and also the fixed-line broadband spaces.
China Telecom, Unicom Rev Up IPTV 电信、联通大举进军IPTV市场
China’s 2 main fixed-line broadband carriers, China Telecom (HKEx: 728; NYSE: CHA) and China Unicom (HKEx: 762; NYSE: CHU), are revving up for a big push into the television market, in what looks like a smart play for a product area that may finally be mature enough to find an audience. My main concern for both of these companies lies in execution, especially for Unicom, which has shown a poor record for implementing new businesses due to organizational dysfunction at the management level. But let’s come back to that issue later, and focus first on the bigger picture that has China Telecom and Unicom putting out tenders for a combined 6.2 million set-top boxes since August as part of their drive to install their IPTV service in millions of Chinese homes. (Chinese article) That number by itself isn’t all too large, but it does seem to indicate that both companies could quickly order more boxes if they find strong demand for their product.
China Mobile: 4G Near, iPhone Far 中国移动：4G接近，iPhone走远
iPhone 5 Launch: Another China Snub? iPhone 5：中国还是不能成为第一批上市国家？
With the buzz rapidly rising about the upcoming launch of the newest iPhone, being dubbed the iPhone 5, an equally low-key buzz is starting to build over whether Apple (Nasdaq: AAPL) will include China on its global launch map for the product or snub the country once again. On a conceptual level, the question should be a no-brainer for Apple, due to the huge importance of the China market to its business. But for other reasons which I’ll explain shortly, Chinese media are already predicting that Apple will once again snub China with the latest high-profile launch, which is expected in the next 2 weeks. (Chinese article)
