MuniWireless

This week, Taiwanese handset manufacturer HTC signed a deal with China Mobile to supply TD-SCDMA handsets for the leading Chinese carrier, according to FT.com. More precisely, HTC will supply one TD-SCDMA device this year and five next year. Both companies also agreed to collaborate together on future deployments (e.g. TD-LTE handsets, market research). Of note, China Mobile plans to roll out 100 new 3G devices by the end of 2009.

Bottom line: This is a pretty big win for HTC on its…

According to TMT China, China Unicom is now discussing nationwide iPhone distribution with several Chinese retailers. Meanwhile, Apple’s A1324 iPhone model, a special version of the iPhone for the Chinese market, which can support GSM/GPRS/EDGE/WCMDA and  will be available from China Unicom, is close to obtaining the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology’s (MIIT) mandatory network access license (NAL) for distribution in China. Discussions between China Mobile and Apple about an iPhone partnership have been over for two months, despite comments made…

This week, China Mobile officially scheduled its mobile app store (Mobile Market) with over 4,000 applications now available. Mobile apps and services are available at no cost to users until the end of September. This is a smart move from China Mobile as it likely to help drive the adoption of its mobile app store. China Mobile hopes it can leverage its extensive relationships with mobile app providers. Ten smartphone models currently support China Mobile’s mobile app store. Those include…

Reading the US mainstream press gives you the impression that deployments of municipal wireless networks came to a complete halt when EarthLink pulled out of the business. While it’s true that the rush to deploy municipal wireless in the US has died down, the opposite is happening in Asia – especially China – where cities are rolling out large-scale Wi-Fi networks in partnership with local carriers. The latest city to announce the completion of a municipal wireless network is Hangzhou…

Hangzhou, the capital of Zhejiang province in eastern China, has completed the first phase of a citywide wireless broadband network. Wi-Fi access is now available along the main traffic routes and popular tourist areas. The local government expects the network to be finished by 2010. Wasu Digital TV Co., the service provider, claims they will be able to provide digital TV even to users in moving vehicles (up to speeds of 40 kph). I am very skeptical of any claims…

Shanghai is rolling out wireless broadband service in partnership with Shanghai Telecom in various areas of the city. You can access the network at Nanjing Road Pedestrian Mall in Huangpu District for 85 US cents per minute (which works out to about $25 for 30 minutes, very expensive).

The plan is to extend network coverage to Beijing Road Hardware Street, Yu Garden Commercial Area and Xizhang Road Commercial Area. The article says that Jiading District established a wireless network in its…