The News of the Optimization Working Group's Kickoff

     In China, PHS subscribers have already exceeded 78 million, however, an image of the Chinese PHS seems to have gradually been fixed as "cheap and low quality products" compared with the GSM. From the Japanese evaluation of the PHS, it's not imaginable, so there must be more rooms for improvement if its cause is the communication quality. Therefore, this Optimization Working Group (OWG) has been established to clarify the reasons for such poor image of the Chinese PHS and to make a proposal to the Chinese partners.
     Preparations have been carried forward since the April PHS MoU Group General Meeting in order to improve an overseas PHS (especially in China) service quality up to the level of Japan and for further development of the PHS in the future. Unlike the other working groups, this OWG is an Ad Hoc Group established for a limited period exclusively to the purpose of the network optimization.
     Mr. Hiroyasu Yoshida of Sanyo Electric Co., LTD has been appointed to the chairperson of this OWG.

Preliminary Activities

     In order to take up OWG's full-scale activities, it's indispensable to grasp the present Chinese problems (both technical and structural), so a visit and hearing to the main PHS MoU member companies and also parties concerned UTStarcom (Hangzhou), Lucent Technologies (Qingdao) and ZTE (Shanghai) has been conducted individually.
     In addition to the PHS MoU Secretariat, WILLCOM, Sanyo, Kyocera, Hitachi, Mitsubishi and JRC (in no special order) attended the above hearings.


Present Chinese PHS Situation

     The net increase in Chinese PHS subscribers continued to be 2 - 3 million per month until the end of May 2005 and the cumulative number of subscribers is expected to exceed 100 million during the winter of 2005. It's believed that the PHS can survive even after the introduction of the 3G service. Chinese carriers (China Telecom, China Netcom) refrained from the new investment to the PHS from this year and are positively trying to improve the connection rate and the communication quality in cooperation with each vendor placing this year as the year of the PHS network optimization. However, it's still far from the expected results due to the various reasons, such as the lack of know-how etc.
     Further, the issues of the frequency band, interference etc. necessary to be solved for the PHS to coexist with the 3G after the introduction of the 3G service are being regarded as most important.


OWG's Policy

     Firstly, to try to investigate precisely the case of improvements having been handled by each OWG member company in the past.
     Secondly, to try to find a cooperative service area in China and to proceed with validating an actual effect of improvements there after the problems and the analysis of their causes having been clarified and also an improvement menu been settled by OWG members.
     Finally, it's being planned to complete the materials for the network optimization which could be a guideline for the network improvement.