(Xinhua via NewsEdge) China Mobile asked equipment providers to submit informal bids, kicking off a round of bidding for TD-SCDMA equipment, said an informed source quoted by China Securities News.
The bidding, which involves dozens of equipment suppliers, will identify providers for the Chinese company's TD-SCDMA commercial network.
The company ran equipment comparison tests just before the Spring Festival. The test results are likely to determine contract shares.
China's TD-SCDMA Industry Alliance disclosed that a number of foreign companies such as Alcatel-Lucent, Nortel, Ericsson and Siemens have joined the bidding through their China-based joint ventures. Domestic providers are also putting in bids.
Earlier reports revealed that the TD-SCDMA procurement bids will be worth 26.7 billion yuan ($3.4 billion) in orders from three major telecom operators, China Mobile, China Telecom, and China Netcom.
The money will be used to buy network equipment and mobile handsets.
China Mobile will build TD-SCDMA commercial networks in eight cities, Beijing, Shanghai, Tianjin, Shenyang, Guangzhou, Shenzhen, Qinhuangdao and Xiamen.
© 2007 Xinhua News Agency
© 2007 Dialog, a Thomson business. All rights reserved