Motorola Wins Six Major Contracts to Expand GSM Networks in China - Company Business and Marketing

Cambridge Telcom Report, Dec 13, 1999

China Unicom and China Mobile awarded Motorola Inc.'s Network Solutions Sector (NSS) six contracts to upgrade and enhance their global system for mobile communications (GSM) networks in China. The combined value of these contracts is $228 million, and the expansion will provide capacity for an additional 2.35 million cellular subscribers by July 2000.

Five of the contracts, totaling $163 million, have been awarded by China Unicom for the expansion of the GSM900 networks in China's major provinces of Jiangsu, Guangdong, Fujian, Shandong and Xinjiang. The installation of these additional microcellular and macrocellular M-Cell base stations will increase the capacity of the networks by 1.65 million subscribers. It is the second time this year Motorola has expanded network services in these five provinces.(a)

The contract awarded by China Mobile totaling $65 million is for GSM network expansion in China's most-populated Sichuan province and will increase the capacity of that network by 700,000 subscribers.

"With the increasing demand for not only voice, but data capability over GSM, we are delighted that Chinese operators are continuing their relationship with us to take their networks forward into the millennium," said Tim Chen, General Manager of China Operations of Motorola's Greater China Network Solutions Division.

"These expansions will enable China Unicom to provide higher quality levels of voice services for the customers, they will also lay the foundation for new, high-speed data networks of the future, such as general packet radio service (GPRS)," said Chen.

China Unicom and China Mobile are two major cellular network operators of China. Motorola has supplied and expanded the GSM network for China Unicom since 1994. The network, which serves 4.7 million subscribers, has experienced 300 percent annual growth since 1997.

(a) Network expansion contacts totaling $106 million for Sichuan, Xinjiang and portions of Shandong and Fujian are included in a $370 million supply contract with China Eastern Communications Company Limited (Eastcom) that was announced in August 1999.

Eastcom has licensing and joint venture agreements with Motorola Investment Ltd. to manufacture, distribute and provide service for Motorola NSS's GSM cellular infrastructure products within China. Eastcom has been a supplier of Motorola NSS cellular equipment in China since 1991.

Notes: - Global System for Mobile communications broke the 200 million-customer barrier in August 1999. (GSM Association)

- By 2005, there will be between 700 million and 1 billion GSM customers worldwide. (GSM Association)

- "The Asia Pacific region continues to grow exponentially, with China maintaining its position as the largest single GSM market in the world, whilst Europe and North America are also experiencing a dramatic pace of expansion." (Michael Stocks, chairman of the GSM Association as reported by RCR & GW wireless news on Sept. 2, 1999)

- China now has 36.2 million mobile subscribers, up from 24.9 million last year, according to the latest official figures from China Ministry of Information Industry.

Motorola, Inc. is a global leader in providing integrated communications solutions and embedded electronics solutions. Sales in 1998 were $29.4 billion. For more information on Motorola, visit the web site at http://www.motorola.com/.>

COPYRIGHT 1999 EDGE Publishing

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