.contact us |.about us
News > Business News ...
Search:
    Advertisement
China Unicom faces new threats to network target
( 2003-10-17 16:53) (Agencies)

A reputation for billing problems and poor network coverage, and aggressive promotion by a low-cost rival, are threatening China Unicom's target for staunching losses on its 20-month-old cellphone network.

Retailers say China's second-largest mobile operator is struggling to sell phones for its CDMA network in Guangdong, a wealthy province key to the company's plan of breaking even on the service nationwide by the end of the year.

China Unicom started its CDMA (code division multiple access) service last year to run in parallel with its established GSM (global system for mobile communications) network.

Vendors at a popular electronics mall in Shenzhen, Guangdong's richest city, told Reuters they have virtually abandoned CDMA handsets amid complaints about irregular billing and poor signals.

Meantime, shops hawking an upstart limited-range service called Shihuatong have sprung up along busy Huaqiang Road, with vendors offering prices well below Unicom's for both handsets and monthly subscriptions.

At the bustling International Electronics City, only a handful of 30-40 handset vendors in the open-air mall offered CDMA handsets. Most were selling models for the GSM networks run by Unicom and its main rival, China Mobile (Hong Kong) Ltd, the world's biggest carrier by number of subscribers.

"We aren't selling too many CDMA handsets," said Qiu Yinyan, whose shop contained only one CDMA model among up to 40 other choices. "People say there are problems with the billing -- they randomly put in charges. Also, the network isn't so good, though the prices are OK."

COMPANY UNAWARE OF PROBLEM

Two other vendors made similar complaints, though a spokesman for China Unicom in Hong Kong said the company was not aware of a billing problem.

Unicom's new chairman, Wang Jianzhou, has said Guangdong is critical to his goal of achieving break-even for the nationwide CDMA network by year end.

Unicom's CDMA networks in Liaoning, Shandong, Zhejiang and Jiangsu provinces, and in the cities of Shanghai and Beijing, all broke even in or before July, Wang said.

"If Guangdong can achieve this level, there will be no problem," he said in late August. "Right now we think this will be very difficult because Guangdong's (loss) is very big."

Wang declined to be more specific, saying only that the nationwide CDMA network lost 590 million yuan (US$71 million) before taxes in the first half of this year.

The company had 12.05 million CDMA subscribers at the end of August, up from 1.69 million a year earlier.

Wang said the company has brought in a troubleshooter from its Chongqing office to turn around the situation in Guangdong, an economic powerhouse province next to Hong Kong that accounts for more than a third of China's exports.

But with the end of the year less than three months away, Unicom faces a daunting task in Guangdong. And fixing its reputation may prove easier than fighting off the Shihuatong service offered by China Telecom Corp, China's biggest fixed-line operator.

China Telecom and its chief rival China Netcom have spent billions of dollars to build up limited-range services, also known as PAS (personal access system), throughout China over the last two years. They are now offering aggressive incentives to promote their investment.

On Huaqiang Road, Shihuatong vendors were virtually giving away PAS phones, offering 400 yuan worth of free service with the purchase of a 350 yuan handset. The cheapest CDMA handsets were selling for about 450 yuan, with no free service.

A vendor catering exclusively in CDMA handsets, who would only give his surname as Zhuang, said he is lucky to sell one handset a day and sometimes goes an entire day without a sale from his small shop.

A woman next to him selling Shihuatong phones averages closer to five or six sales a day, he said, adding that he wouldn't stay with CDMA if his shop wasn't owned by Unicom.

"I've done this a few months now," he said. "It's getting worse and worse. The longer I do it, the worse sales get."

 
Close  
   
  Today's Top News   Top Business News
   
+The next great leap after Shenzhou V
( 2003-10-21)
+Hu calls for balanced development
( 2003-10-21)
+Report: SARS not airborne virus
( 2003-10-21)
+Japan urged to resolve weapons issue
( 2003-10-21)
+Int'l AIDS group opens Beijing office
( 2003-10-21)
+Home-appliance giants want wheels
( 2003-10-21)
+Exchange-rate reform under study
( 2003-10-21)
+Health insurance sector called for
( 2003-10-21)
+SanDisk teams up to open outlets
( 2003-10-21)
+Housing prices start to sag in Shanghai
( 2003-10-21)
   
  Go to Another Section  
     
 
 
     
  Article Tools  
     
 
 
     
  Related Articles  
     
 

+3G launch to benefit mobile firms
2003-10-08

+Mobile phone maker touts two standards to make both work
2003-10-07

+Telecom regulator has no plan to reduce licences
2003-09-18

+China Unicom eyes CDMA-GSM link
2003-09-17

+China Telecom to pay up to 10 billion dollars for six networks
2003-09-12

+Unicom: CDMA revenues to surpass costs
2003-09-02

+Accounting at China Unicom triggers concern
2003-09-01

+Home-grown 3G standard encouraged
2003-08-29

+Unicom fails its target for CDMA users
2003-08-13

+Unicom pushes fresh services to compete
2003-07-23

+Unicom's bond plan unchanged
2003-07-15

+Nokia ready to enter promising CDMA market
2003-06-05

+Sony-Ericsson eye CDMA license in China
2002-09-16

 
     
   
        .contact us |.about us
  Copyright By chinadaily.com.cn. All rights reserved