China Mobile has offered an open tender to procure six million TD-SCDMA handsets equipped with CMMB mobile TV functionality and has selected seven China-based vendors, with no international winners, according to China-based CBN Daily.
China Mobile will procure 12 models of inexpensive TD-SCDMA CMMB handsets, with an equal procurement volume of 500,000 units for each model, the report indicated. The seven local suppliers are ZTE with three models, Huawei Device, Lenovo and Coolpad each with two models as well as K-Touch, Hisense and New Postcom each with one model.
Vendors, including Nokia, Sony Ericsson, Motorola and Samsung Electronics, all failed in the competition because China Mobile asked for a unit procurement price of below 1,000 yuan (US$150) and they do not offer such inexpensive TD-SCDMA handset models, the report pointed out. Consequently, the seven China-based vendors eat the whole pie, with prices ranging from 350 yuan to 650 yuan.
Seven of the 12 models will use TD-SCDMA chips developed by China-based Leadcore Technology, a member of Datang Telecom Technology & Industry Group, and five models will be equipped with chips developed by China-based Spreadcom Communications and T3G (originally China-based but has merged into ST-Ericsson).
China Mobile expects these inexpensive handsets to fast expand its 3G user base in competition with China United Telecommunications and China Telecom which have launched WCDMA handsets at below 1,000 yuan and CDMA models at about 1,000 yuan respectively, the report pointed out.