Domestic brands ZTE and Coolpad have taken the biggest share of China Mobile’s six million-unit TD-SCDMA handset tender.
The tender, China Mobile’s largest ever for the locally-developed standard, is for a minimum of 500,000 handsets from each vendor, sina.com reported Monday.
The operator, which has yet to announce the formal results of the tender, is seeking 3.6 million entry-level handsets and 2.4 million mid-range phones. All handsets are required to support mobile TV.
Seven local vendors are taking part, offering 12 handsets. Chip firm Leadcore Technology is the biggest winner among the silicon makers.
ZTE has won the biggest share of units ordered, followed by Yulong Coolpad, Huawei and Lenovo Mobile. All are offering mid-range and low-end devices, Sina said.
Since starting its TD-SCDMA service in early 2009, China Mobile has signed up just 15 million 3G subs. It reported 570 million mobile customers in total at the end of September.