3G/ EDGE situation - 21st May 2005

3G/ EDGE: 

There are 71 commercial 3G WCDMA networks in 33 countries, up from 60 and 28 respectively at the end of last year. On the terminal side, there are 166 WCDMA phones, up from 58 at the end of 2004.On the EDGE side, there are 84 networks in commercial operation in 52 countries. There are currently some 113 EDGE telephone models.

In China, 3G situation is becoming complex. We were expecting 3G licenses by year-end and deployment starting in 2006. But MII's head announced he expects 3G services to become a reality in China by 2008, and that the government is always cautious on the technology. He also added the government is not in a hurry to begin the licensing process. Let see...