Beijing and Tokyo, June 9th, 2005---Wuhan Research institute of
Post and Telecommunications (WRI) and NEC Corporation has signed an
agreement to establish a joint venture in China. The new firm will
engage in 3G mobile infrastructure development, manufacturing,
sales, maintenance, and system engineering (wireless circuit
design).
The name of the new firm will be "Wuhan Fiberhome Mobile
Communication Inc.". A 65% share of the new company will be hold by
WRI, a 30% share by NEC and NEC Telecom China and a 5% share by
others. The new company plans to start with 100 employees and is
set to be established within June of this year in Wuhan City.
WRI was established by the Research Institute of Chinese Post
and Telecommunications ministry, and now one of top manufacturers
in the field of telecommunications infrastructure in China. As a
local vendor in China, the joint venture company will contribute to
the early establishment of 3G infrastructures in China by expanding
W-CDMA and developing TD-SCDMA based on NEC's state-of-the-art 3G
(W-CDMA) infrastructure technology and 3G network design and
optimization technologies, utilizing WRI's extensive maintenance,
sales, and service network and established relationships with
telecommunications carriers.
By working together with WRI, NEC gets to establish a 3G
business operation structure taking strong hold in China.
NEC, together with its 3G alliance partner Siemens, has already
become a leading company in 3G infrastructure with respect to
orders received and extent of commercial applications. To build on
this base, NEC is striving to expand the 3G infrastructure business
in the Chinese market mainly through NEC Telecom (China),
established in June 2004. NEC Telecom (China) will work with
Siemens and also through its joint venture with WRI in an optimal
formation to expand 3G infrastructure business in China.
Takakuni Kuki, Executive General Manager of NEC's Mobile Network
Operations Unit commented, "NEC hopes to take a leading position
for the construction of 3G infrastructure in China with its
abundant technologies and experiences in 3G commercial markets in
Asia and Europe. NEC will enter into a key phase of the Chinese 3G
market. In order to accelerate the progress of Chinese 3G market,
NEC will build up basic production as early as possible to meet the
increasing demand of the market."
<NEC and 3G>
As the pioneer of global 3G WCDMA market, Siemens/NEC alliance has
made outstanding achievement. It has already cooperated with more
than 30 3G operators and more than 20 countries and areas. In a
report from April 2005 the independent Multimedia Research
Institute in Tokyo positions Siemens/ NEC in the 3G W-CDMA market
as No.1 regarding commercially installed NodeBs, occupying 30,1
percent worldwide market shares.
In 2004, NEC established a 3G demonstration center in Guangdong.
The center showcases NEC's 3G network solution offerings such as
Node-B radio base station, radio network controller and 3G
terminals, and mobile internet application platform, and
demonstrates attractive mobile multimedia service using the 3G
technology. The 3G demonstration center is opened to a variety of
customers including telecom carriers, government agencies, as well
as software vendors and application service providers who may use
the center as a testing site for 3G mobile applications with actual
3G infrastructure environment. NEC is also increasing its 3G
infrastructure support sites in major cities in China.
In addition, NEC recently established "NEC Telecommunications
(Hong Kong) Limited", a mobile network operation outsourcing
company to further expand the business of the new company to
include 3G projects in China in the future. The new company marks
NEC's entry into a new business area, accumulating capability in
network system outsourcing with the combination of NEC's
competences as a mobile network vendor and highly skilled
outsourcing staff. With this new company, NEC will be ready for
3G's take-off in China market, enabling us to support global
operators with its total solution capabilities.
Media Contact: Akiko Shikimori
NEC Corporation
Tel: +81 3 3798 6511
e-mail: a-shikimori@ay.jp.nec.com
About NEC Corporation
NEC is one of the world's leading providers of Internet,
broadband network and enterprise business solutions dedicated to
meeting the specialized needs of its diverse and global base of
customers. Ranked as one of the world's top patent-producing
companies, NEC delivers tailored solutions in the key fields of
computer, networking and electron devices, by integrating its
technical strengths in IT and Networks, and by providing advanced
semiconductor solutions through NEC Electronics Corporation. The
NEC Group employs more than 140,000 people worldwide and had net
sales of approximately $40 billion in the fiscal year ended March
2003. For additional information, please visit the NEC home page
at: http://www.nec.com/