EV-DO Rev.A is Better Than HSDPA - report

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Thursday, 15 March 2007
“EV-DO Rev.A is More Cost Competitive”

When it comes to HSDPA service, KTF, Korea’s runner up mobile operator, is at the forefront of spreading the service while SK Telecom, the biggest wireless carrier, gearing up for an intensified marketing campaign. Against this backdrop, a report said that HSDPA is not any better than EV-DO Rev.A, which LG Telecom, the smallest mobile operator, is preparing to provide. The report even said that at this point, EV-DO Rev.A service has a better prospect than HSDPA.

Daishin Securities, a local stock brokerage firm, said its recent report based on their study on the Japanese mobile industry, “Since 2003, NTT DoCoMo and KDDI have competed with WCDMA and EV-DO services. However, in terms of the speed, the two have failed to stand out than one another.” “Korea, where HSDPA and EV-DO Rev.A are expected to compete, will not that different from its neighbor”, said the report. Daishin said that rather than networks but service affordability and device availability would be significant differentiators for HSDPA and EV-DO Rev.A services.

KDDI had the competitive edge over NTT DoCoMo in data service thanks to EV-DO’s faster speed than WCDMA and EV-DO Rev.A service offered by KDDI is as fast as DoCoMo’s HSDPA or faster in uplink speed, said Daishin. Therefore, the brokerage firm concluded that although HSDPA service clearly is a global trend, downplaying EV-DO Rev.A or overestimating HSDPA would not be a good idea.

The report said, “LG Telecom’s EV-DO Rev.A service is more cost-efficient as it doesn’t require much initial investments. LG Telecom can provide mobile video phone, large-scale multimedia service cheaper than its bigger rivals.”

Daishin Securities said, “KTF is working very hard to preach HSDPA. However, except for global roaming, the service will be almost the same as the service it has provided.” In addition, the global roaming service itself is not any better than that of SK Telecom and it will be difficult to differentiate the roaming service in Asia and the U.S. from that of LG Telecom, said the report.