The 3G era
Tan Wei

For some Chinese, choosing a cellphone number is about maximizing luck, and making sure there’s an “8” somewhere is a good bet. Now Chinese cellphone users can have two eights toward the beginning of their mobile numbers.
Beginning this month, trial cellphone numbers starting with “188” will be issued in several Chinese cities like Beijing, Qingdao, Xiamen, Baoding and Shanghai.
But beyond luck, the number has a lot of significance for China’s 3G (third generation) standard. The numbers, which in fact the 3G standard will operate upon, signal the standard’s entrance into the market after years of experimentation in the laboratory.
Tang Ru’an, President of Datang Telecom Technology, which is in charge of the research and development of TD-SCDMA (China’s 3G standard), said that over 1,000 3G cellphone numbers had been issued to the public and at least 20,000 would be issued in the trial procedure.
“Technologically, TD-SCDMA can fulfill the needs of 3G commercial operators, and it is good news for large-scale commercial use in the future,” said Tang.
At present, Chinese cellphone subscribers are using 2G cellphones, which can only detect and emit audio. However, the 3G pattern is a wider platform, facilitating video calls, faster mobile Internet access, cellphone TV and entertainment.
Such advantages are nothing new for countries that have already used WCDMA and CDMA2000. But Chinese consumers have been waiting for years for this to come.
China’s choice
There are currently three 3G standards in the world: WCDMA from Europe and Japan; CDMA2000 from the United States and South Korea; and China’s TD-SCDMA.
However, the 3G license has not been issued yet in China.
“Certainly 3G will work for the 2008 Beijing Olympics,” Tang said. The 2008 Beijing Olympic Organizing Committee has set a timetable to have the technology in place 18 months ahead of the Games. The Olympic Games will start in August 2008, and the 3G license must be issued before February 2007, Tang said.
Meanwhile mobile service providers are skeptical of the new technology.
China Mobile, China Unicom, China Telecom and China Netcom would rather get the licenses of WCDMA and CDMA 2000.
Dong Xiaoyang, an analyst with Norson (Hong Kong) Technology Ltd., said it is understandable that the service providers are suspicious of the function of TD-SCDMA because “any technology growing under the highly competitive WCDMA and CDMA2000 needs time to mature.”
WCDMA and CDMA2000 already have the benefit of large-scale production internationally. However, because TD-SCDMA is only for the Chinese market, equipment providers and cellphone manufacturers are cautious about investing in it.
Apart from that, the operators’ reluctance in implementing the TD-SCDMA standard has other deep-seated reasons. Lu Tingjie, Dean of the Economics Management School at Beijing University of Posts and Telecommunications, stated that the operators are worrying about their own future development strategy apart from the technology itself.
Once they adopt the TD-SCDMA technology, they would have to shoulder the risks in future market scale, international cooperation and international roaming service.
“These are the most worrisome elements for service providers,” Lu said. Guided by the dim market prospect, they would least likely choose TD-SCDMA if other choices were also offered.”
However, the decision-making Ministry of Information Industry is more in favor of TD-SCDMA.
In June 1998, Datang Telecom Technology handed its first proposal draft of the TD-SCDMA standard to the International Telecommunica-tion Union (ITU). On May 5, 2000, ITU formally announced that TD-SCDMA was incorporated into the International Mobile Telecommunications 3G standard draft proposal. From then on, China has possessed its own 3G standard with independent intellectual property rights, and the Chinese Government has since given enormous support for the development of this technology.
Up until now, the National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC), the Ministry of Science and Technology and the Ministry of Information Technology have invested about 1.4 billion yuan into this project.
At the 3G in China-2006 Global Summit, Tang revealed that the NDRC and the two ministries had promised to deploy about 200 million yuan for the next step: TD-SCDMA network testing. The 200 million yuan will be distributed proportionally to China Mobile, China Telecom and China Netcom to purchase equipment and network optimizing service.
“If TD-SCDMA is to be laid out in Beijing, it is estimated to need 4-5 billion yuan in investment,” said Tao Xiongqiang, Vice President of China Potevio Co. Ltd. Further, if China is going to transfer the 400 million 2G users to 3G in five years, the total investment needed would be around 500-600 billion yuan.
Norson commented that in terms of TD-SCDMA, the attitude of the Chinese Government is clear. It gives its full support for the home-grown 3G standard and is pushing to raise TD-SCDMA’s competence to the level of the other two standards.
Equipment providers follow closely
The 3G standard issuance is good news for 3G equipment manufacturers, who have been waiting for years for a unified standard.
That’s because whichever standard the government eventually adopts, some key telecommunication equipment manufacturers like ZTE Corp., Huawei Technologies Co. Ltd. and Datang Telecom Technology Co. Ltd. all possess the ability to provide technology to assist its spread.
The competence of Chinese manufacturers should transcend that of their foreign rivals in the field of TD-SCDMA network competition.
In the commercialization tests of TD-SCDMA starting this month, mobile service providers have teamed up with system equipment manufacturers.
China Mobile chose ZTE and TD Tech Holding Ltd. (TD Tech); China Telecom selected Datang and TD Tech; and China Netcom chose ZTE and Datang. Over a dozen cellphone manufacturers also will participate in the testing, including two South Korean companies-Samsung and LG. This marks the first time that TD-SCDMA equipment providers will join the operators in such a test.
“Currently, some equipment manufacturers like Huawei and ZTE have been providing whole sets of equipment for overseas 3G users,” said Yang Peifang, assistant chief engineer of the China Academy of Telecommunication Research of the Ministry of Information Industry. “They will come back to seek development in the home market when the timing is right. They are doing the right thing.”
Without a doubt, ZTE is a favorite for the 3G operators. ZTE has invested heavily in developing the TD-SCDMA technology before. Joseph Ho, an analyst from the Japanese Daiwa Institute of Research, estimated that 20 percent of the 80 billion yuan needed for TD-SCDMA network development in the first three years will come from ZTE. He estimated that the sales revenue of ZTE will drop 9 percent to 19.5 billion yuan this year compared with last year, while it will jump to 27.7 billion yuan, up 42 percent, next year. Ho contended ZTE’s profit in 2007 will jump 92 percent to 2.8 billion yuan.
But analyst Min Lu from Merrill Lynch warned that after the opening of the Chinese 3G market, despite a substantial increase in revenue of those equipment manufacturers, their profit margins will decline. Min suspected that operators will bargain heavily with equipment manufacturers.
As foreign telecom equipment manufacturers lack experience in developing TD-SCDMA, international telecom giants such as Nokia, Ericsson, Siemens and Alcatel are seeking cooperation with domestic TD-SCDMA equipment manufacturers for a share of the alluring Chinese market.
Siemens is the first overseas telecom giant entering this field. The aggregate investment in TD-SCDMA from Siemens has surpassed 200 million euros. Siemens currently controls its joint venture with Huawei by holding 51 percent of the stock. Alcatel has contributed 250 million yuan to work in cooperation with Datang and is going beyond just manufacturing toward research and development.
In contrast, Ericsson and Nokia, which have a competitive edge in the WCDMA market, lag behind in making substantial progress in their cooperation with ZTE and Potevio, with the focus on seeking future market share instead.
Recently, Li Minxiang, Director of the Global Software Group China Center of Motorola (China), said that Motorola is going to seek cooperation with domestic TD-SCDMA equipment manufacturers in order to penetrate the Chinese market after the 3G license is issued.
“The pattern of cooperation can be a joint venture or a strategic alliance,” said Li.
Liu Peng, Vice General Manager of ZTE, pointed out that his company’s cooperation with foreign capital would first focus on building up a core technology platform and introduce a joint product to the market. After the brand is well recognized in the market, the company will come up with its own products.
“If the market is to be explored, the leading European and American companies will follow closely,” Jiang Hongrui, a research fellow of LG, said. “The last and the best chance for domestic manufacturers is the time before foreign companies sweep in.”

(The Daily Mail-Beijing Review  Articles Exchange Item)

Towards the new World Order
Col (R) M. Zaman Malik

The Holy Quran has laid the greatest emphasis on the concept of Unity (Tawhid).
It is not found there, however, merely as a concept among concepts but as an all-pervading principle which governs all the fundamental domains of human faith and action. As such, it is vitally necessary to understand it in all its dimensions for the sake of understanding the basic Quranic approach to the vital human problems.
It is the intent of the Islamic promise that the light of God’s justice will one day break over the entire earth and “Thou shall see in it no hallow or rising hills.” The New World Order covers the full range of human activities, from the social and political realm to the everyday relationships in our cultural, spiritual, economic and community lives. It is both an internal and an external re-ordering. It is in essence, the fulfilment of the vision set down by Isaiah in Bible, of the time when the nations “shall beat their swords into plowshares and their spears into pruninghooks..., nor shall they learn war any more.”
It is what Christians have prayed for throughout the centuries when they recite the Lord’s Prayers, testifying to the coming of God’s kingdom: “Thy will be done on earth as in heaven.” The emergence of this order can be seen in thousands of ways: the century long- trend towards greater equality for women and minorities; greater economic justice and the elimination of the traditionally vast differences of wealth and class; and in the century- trend towards global interdependence. Christendom clearly advocated for it before the birth of the Holy Prophet Muhammad (PBUH), and Muslims, according to the principles derived from the Holy Quran, yearn for their implementation. However, the Jews – the superior race, according to their Torah, do not believe in it and their New World Order, as we have seen and continue to see, is based only on lip service to oneness of mankind, in order to occupy world’s riches by using ruthlessly the unlimited resources that are there within the Muslim States, by using the US Unilateralism, on which they exercise full command and control. Their notion of being a superior race is the main and powerful cause of Racism of Jewish Zionism and Neocon’s indiscriminate destruction of the Muslim countries. Neither the Christ nor the Prophet Muhammad (PBUT) ever showed any likings for it; they rather abhorred their psyche, in this context.
Both the religions (not Jewish Zionism), have set out certain principles to attain true New World Order, which are: (1) Unity of God; (2) Unity of Universe; (3) Principles of Unity in respect of the relation of God with the cosmos; (4) Unity of life;(5) Unity of the ‘Natural’ and the ‘Super-Natural’; (6) Unity of knowledge; (7) Unity of Faith and reason; (8) Unity of Truth; (9) Unity of Religion); (10) Unity of ‘Love and ‘Law; (11) Unity of Mankind; (12) Principle of Unity in respect of the sexes; (13) Unity Of Human Personality; (14) Unity In Terms Of ‘Freedom’ And ‘Determinism’; (16) Unity In Basic Social Life; (17) Unity In Terms Of Politics; (18) Unity Of Church And State; (19) Unity In Terms Of Economics; (20) Unity In terms Of Classes; (21) Principle Of Unity As The Basis Of Culture; (22) Unity In Terms Of Ideal Of Single God.
In 1988, Soviet President Mikhail Gorbachev spoke at the UNO of a need to search for “Universal Human Consensus” as humanity Moves Towards a “New World Order”. In 1990, US President George Bush (Senior) Talked about the new level of post Cold War Cooperation among nations – and especially the UN action in the Persian Gulf then. Since then, the phrase has gained currency as academics, journalists and world leaders have taken it up. The term has come to frame the discussion over how the next stage of our planet’s life might best be organized. Yet for all discussions, the new world order remains without real definition. As also the terrorism and struggle or freedom, State Terrorism, also have been denuded of well known definitions. It is all by design.
It is what Christians have prayed for through out centuries when they recite the Lord’s Prayer, testifying to the coming of God’s Kingdom. Judaism / Jewish Zionists are considering themselves as the “Chosen People” of God and are waiting for the Kingdom of David even if it has to be established on the ashes of humankind. Are they hopeful of it and can they draw it nearer by means of intrigues? Unfortunately, some Christians also got entrapped by them. The fact is that the Christians are waiting for the Jewish- Crucified Lord Christ, and not for King David, which they had been praying for before the return of Jews (since 71 AD by the Roman King) back to the land they were made to leave, nearly for two millennia. It is the intent of Islamic promise` that the light of God’s justice will one day break over the entire earth and “Thou shall see in it no hollows or rising hills.” Te emergence of this order can be seen in thousands of ways: The century-long trend towards greater equality for women and minorities; in the century – long trend towards greater economic justice and elimination of traditionally vast differences of wealth and class; and in the century-long trend towards global interdependence.
Yet the promulgation of new social ideology alone is not enough to transform the wicked, and bring about the new world order – as the collapse of communism had shown The new World Order can only be built upon the deep comprehension of humanity’s spiritual reality – a reality that lies at the very essence of our beings. It is spiritual world that is the source of those human qualities that engender unity and harmony, that lead to insight and understanding, and that make possible cooperative understandings. Among such qualities are love, courage, vision, self-sacrifice, and humility. Essentially spiritual in nature, these qualities form invisible yet essential foundation of human society. Here, I will most humbly ask for permission about my contribution towards it:-
(I) Preparing for the Twenty First Century (The New UNO) at PP 106 – 107, in PAKISTAN DEFENCE REVIEW, Volume 8, Number 2, winter 1996.
(II) Equilibrium between Science and Religion Can save Planet, PP 101-110, in PAKISTAN ARMY JOURNAL, winter -1997.
(III) Global Catastrophe at Jerusalem, PP 84-87, in PAKISTAN ARMY JOURNAL - AUTUMN – 1996.
National rivalries, hatreds, and intrigues will cease, and racial animosity and Prejudice will be replaced by racial amity, understanding and cooperation. The causes of religious strife will be permanently removed, economic barriers and restrictions (as being aired by US against Iran), will be completely abolished, and the inordinate distinction between classes will be obliterated. Destitution on the one hand, and gross accumulation of ownership on the other, will disappear. The enormous energy dissipated and wasted on war , whether economic or political, will be consecrated to such ends as will extend the range of human inventions and technology development, to the increase of the productivity of mankind, to the extermination of disease, to the extension of scientific reach, to the raising of the standard of physical health, to the sharpening and refinement of the human brain, to the exploitation of the unused and unsuspected resources of the planet, to the prolongation of human life, and to the furtherance of any other agency that can stimulate the intellectual, the moral, and spiritual life of the entire human race.
We wish All the best to the Cuba conference of the Third World Countries (including of course the NAM). My (stated) humble contribution may kindly be made available to the press. We live in the era of all- embracing Communications- Print and electronic, both.

Turco-Pakistan relations
Khalid Khokhar

Pakistan enjoys a historical, cultural, political and religious links with Turkey, which have been further fomented through bilateral and regional cooperation between the two countries. The relationship has continued to grow despite changes of governments in both countries. Turkmen consider Pakistan as the “most-friendly” country, whereas, Pakistanis identify the founding father of modern day Turkey, Kemal Ataturk, as a role model. President Pervez Musharraf, greatly admires and reveres the ever-lasting contributions of Kemal Ataturk, in developing an enlightened and progressive Turkey. The president expresses a strong vision to see Pakistan steering towards prosperity and enlightenment. The deep-rooted bonds of association between the Pakistani and the Turkish people have continued to grow over the years. Pakistan and Turkey are the cold war allies against the expansional designs of Soviet Union. Both the countries are the founding members of OIC, RCD, ECO, D-8. Pakistan supports the Turkish Cypriots’ cause and, similarly, Turks have always backed Pakistan on the Kashmir issue. There is a remarkable convergence of views between Turkey and Pakistan on all major issues of regional and global significance, including the Middle East, Afghanistan and the Iran.
Cultural relations with Turkey are governed under a Cultural Cooperation Agreement signed in 1953. There have been a number of cultural exchange programs under this agreement. The introduction of Pakistani student exchange programmes into Turkish schools is a significant and major step towards closer cultural and educational cooperation between the two countries and provides an excellent opportunity to interest Turkish youth in Pakistan and to consolidate our historic and cultural links. During 1977, a Joint Ministerial Commission was established, which provides a viable institutional framework for the identification of areas to promote economic and commercial cooperation between the two countries. Both sides agreed to expand cooperation in the industrial and technical fields, to exchange information on an export-processing free zone, and to cooperate in the fields of electronics, shipping and shipbuilding/repairs, telecommunication, agriculture, oil and petrochemicals, civil aviation and automobiles. On the military side, high level defence exchange programmes have also taken a significant leap forward. Both the countries have established High Level Military Dialogue (HLMD). Turkey and Pakistan have entered into a mutual exchange programme of training of armed forces personnel in the respective services academies. There is a great convergence in developing joint defence industry projects and conduct of joint military exercises have been mutually agreed. On the economic front, trade between the two countries presently at $ 160 millions per annum, is planned to increase to $1 billion by 2005. There exists a strong need to increase economic and commercial interaction and expanding and diversifying bilateral trade.
During the cold war period, the relations between India and Turkey were cold as both countries were affiliated with different blocks. Since 1992, both countries have expressed desire to improve relationship. Particularly during last few years Turkey has adopted a policy of maintaining and building relationships with all countries without exception and exclusion. During 2003, both countries have exchanges high-level delegation. In the first quarter, Turkish parliamentarian visited India. In August 2003, Indian Foreign Minister visited Turkey. In Sep 2003, Indian Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee visited Turkey, with the aim to develop a wedge in between Turco-Pakistan’s historical relationships. During the recent visit of Indian PM, various agreements were signed, which includes: cooperation in the field of Science and Technology, establishment of JWG for study on “Countries Terrorism Cooperation” (so far no meeting of the same has taken place), extradition Treaty, and talks for expansion of trade. However, agreement on exemption of visa to each other diplomat/officials could not be reached due to differences propping up at last minute during summit meeting. Turkey’s main interest in improving the relations is to improve the balance of trade between the two countries, which is presently very much in India’s favor i.e. (Indian exports are over $600 millions whereas Turkey export is just around $100 million). Turkey enjoys good relations with Israel, which in turn has good relation with India as well. However, it does not mean that there could be a nexus between the three countries against Pakistan – in the name of combating international terrorism. Turkmen dispelled such ideas being floated in media as rubbish as there exists no such overt or secret understanding. The recent visit of Israeli Deputy Prime Minister was probably aimed to promote the defence sales to India, as Israelis are exploring markets for the sale of defence equipment as planned for modernization of Indian armed forces.
Turkey is interested in resolution of Cyprus issue before May 2004 i.e. the date set for joining of Cyprus with European Union. However, Turkey will support a loose confederation of the two parts, which must ensure safeguarding cultural, linguistic and educational rights of people of Northern Cyprus including the Turkish immigrants. Though, Turkey is definitely interested in resolution of issue but is not desperate, to forego aforesaid aspects for the sake of resolution. Turkey has made vast reforms to conform to the guidelines to fulfill the criterion for joining the European Union. These reforms have been acknowledged by European Union, but it wants to see the application/practical manifestation of reforms on ground before making a final decision. Though, Turkey realizes that it’s a long way before it could actually join European Union, but it is desperately interested to at least start negotiations with EU on the subject of membership, which is the first pre requisite for final admission. Beside, it will help both sides to understand each other’s position. USA is continuing its support for admission of Turkey in EU, which is also antagonizing some old European Union members.
It may be appreciated that trade and commerce is the fundamental factor governing the bilateral/multilateral relations rather ideology or security concerns. Due to the prospects of opening up of Indian market in view of World Trade Organization regime, the countries around the world are interested to secure their share of export in Indian markets. The visit of Turkey by the Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf during 2003 was aimed to attract Turkish investors to invest in Pakistani markets. The visit was followed by signing of several agreements, including cooperation in fighting against terrorism as well as intelligence sharing activities. Establishment of transport facilities between Pakistan and Turkey was stressed so as to increase not only bilateral trade but to give boost to much ignored industry of tourism. Cooperation in the field of Information Technology will bring the both country much closer and will provide a corridor of employment opportunities for Pakistani professionals and technical.