China Unicom wins Macao's CDMA license bidding

China United Telecommunications (China Unicom), the second-largest mobile operator in China, on Friday out-beat four rivals to win a CDMA service license bidding in China's Macao Special Administrative Region (SAR).

In the public bidding held by the Macao SAR government, China Unicom won the concession for operating CDMA (Code Division Multiple Access) service in Macao with a 10-year term.

Unicom was among five companies that have submitted bids to operate CDMA service in Macao, which also include Macao's leading telecommunications provider Companhia de Telecomunicacoes de Macao (CTM) as well as SmarTone, Kong Seng Paging Co. Ltd. and Vodatel Holding Ltd.

Zhao Le, executive director and vice president of China Unicom, said that his company boasts the largest CDMA network in the world and is the service provider for 28 million CDMA users in the Chinese mainland. The company is able to offer Macao citizens CDMA rambling and value-added services when they travel to China's mainland.

He announced that Unicom will launch the service prior to the opening of the 4th East Asian Games in Macao by the end of October. In the first year of operation, the company will mainly focus on the customer service for tourists to Macao.

Currently, Macao only offers GSM service for mobile communications, which has reached a penetration rate of 100 percent in the city of 460,000 population.

With the vigorous economic development bolstered by the gaming, tourist and convention industries, Macao has witnessed a heavy passenger flow, which registered 16 million in visitor arrivals last year. The SAR government decided to tender the bidding for the CDMA service license last September.