According to a source familiar with the situation, China Telecom (NYSE: CHA; 0728.HK) plans to invest between RMB 27 and 30 bln in CDMA networks this year, with between RMB 12 and 15 bln going for system equipment, RMB 7 bln for base stations, and RMB 6 bln to establish a service platform.

The companies participating in China Telecom's CDMA bidding are Huawei, Nortel, ZTE (0763.HK; 000063.SZ), Motorola and Alcatel-Lucent. The source said that equipment manufacturers have already provided product samples to China Telecom, and will be required to guarantee shipping of products in September.

Source:National Business Daily