Telemobil gears up in 3G race

Telemobil by the end of the year will launch the first third-generation mobile telephony network in Europe operating in the 450 MHz bandwidth and based on CDMA (Code Division Multiple Access) in Romania.

This allows for voice and data transmissions by using a single channel, according to Diwaker Singh, company chairman.

The value of the investment required to build a national coverage network is estimated by the Telemobil management to more than $350 million.

The money will come from the main investor, Inquam, financially supported by US-based Qualcomm and by Omnia Investment Fund, from equipment suppliers as well as from international credits.

Telemobil has spent some $25 million for the development of the CDMA network over the past four months, with another $50 million allotted for new equipment purchase, Singh says.

Telemobil concluded the first two stages and is currently developing and installing the pieces of equipment. By the time it is launched, the network will have covered more than 15 cities in Romania and the main roads.

“We’re estimating national coverage by mid 2003, and 20% in market share in five years’ time,” Singh said.

The network’s main suppliers will be Lucent, for base and central stations, Harris and Kathrein for aerials. Israel-based Comverse Company will come up with the platforms for additional services.

“Telemobil is not here to compete with the GSM operators in Romania, as the telecoms market is growing and we want to use this upward trend to develop, rather than to stir up trouble in the GSM sector.

There are many countries in the world which have both technologies operating,” Singh specified.

CDMA compatible terminals will come with a built-in modem for Internet connections, which will lead to lower prices for accessing data and higher speeds.

The introduction of UMTS networks, Europe’s response to the CDMA technology widespread in the US, Japan, Asia and more recently in China, will take longer in Romania, as well as in the rest of the world.

“There are over 80 million CDMA technology users worldwide,” Singh said. Mediafax