With the aim of accelerating the migration from second- to third-generation networks in China, Datang Mobile, Royal Philips Electronics and Samsung Electronics have formed a joint venture company, named T3G.
The company will design and license core TD-SCDMA chipsets and reference designs for mobile terminals and end-user equipment.
The aim being to provide a complete solution (reference design, hardware and software) for handset manufacturers and cellular phone design houses in order to speed up the production of the first commercial TD-SCDMA handsets, likely to be available in 2004.
The collaboration combines Datang's TD-SCDMA expertise, Philips' cutting-edge semiconductor design and process capability, and Samsung's leadership in mobile handset creation. Each partner has invested considerable resources, including capital, technology, personnel and marketing. As a result, T3G plans to produce core chipsets and reference designs for TD-SCDMA/GSM (GPRS) dual-mode mobile handsets that will be brought to market by Samsung and other handset manufacturers.
TD-SCDMA technology, developed by Datang and Siemens, is designed to reduce the current bottlenecks in the development of 3G handsets by providing benefits including reduced power consumption and improved standby time. It provides the operators with a standard that will enable the migration from existing GSM/GPRS networks to the third-generation functionality without major infrastructure changes. TD-SCDMA enables dual-mode 2G/3G phones to provide transparent access to services delivered over different networks. Consequently, operators can implement 3G overlay networks in line with market demand. In addition, TD-SCDMA is well suited for utilizing unused spectrum to create additional capacity and for adoption in major metropolitan centers.
Commenting on the future development and business model of T3G, Johan Pross, CEO of the newly formed company, stated that, "T3G is an autonomous company and the three venture partners will allow the company to expand in the market independently. T3G will also be in a position to form broad strategic alliances and provide open access to the technology."