Cell Phone Shipments Reach One Billion in 2006

Press Release - January 30, 2007

China, which has yet to begin its long-anticipated deployment of 3G wireless services, leapfrogged ahead this week by launching the world’s first fourth-generation (4G) mobile network on a “trial commercial basis.”

The new technology was rolled out in the city of Shanghai by the “FuTURE Project,” a consortium of ten “leading domestic institutions,” according to China Daily, a government-controlled newspaper. It reportedly provides wireless data transmission speeds of up to 100 megabytes per second, and was built at a cost of 150 million Yuan, or US$19.3 million.

Despite a plethora of disputes and delays regarding third-generation mobile services, China is hoping get in on the ground floor of the global 4G industry. The level of control and secrecy with which it is operating, however, could prove to be an Achilles heel for the communist country if it ever tries to seriously compete in the global wireless standards market.