China Unicom has confirmed it expects to use WCDMA technology for its forthcoming 3G network rollout in a bid to become the country’s largest 3G operator. “We are determined to be number one. We should get WCDMA, the most mature standard,” said Zuo Xunsheng, chairman and chief executive of China Netcom (the company Unicom is merging with), in an interview with the Financial Times (FT). He added that the merged operator is aiming to secure one-third of China’s 3G market by 2010 at the earliest. It is expected to receive its 3G license once the Unicom/Netcom merger is finalised, scheduled for October. According to the FT, China will issue three 3G licenses to the three operators created by the recent restructuring in the Chinese telecoms market. However, the report adds that each operator will use a different 3G technology: Unicom/Netcom will use WCDMA; China Mobile will use TD-SCDMA – China’s homegrown 3G technology; and CDMA-based operator China Telecom will use CDMA2000 (though the latter has hinted that it will eventually move to LTE, part of the GSM/WCDMA family of technologies).

China Unicom has previously stated that it will invest up to RMB100 billion (US$14.6 billion) building its 3G network over the next two years. Zuo told the FT that the operator aims to introduce 3G services in the third-quarter of 2009, adding that the network would be profitable two years after launch. His comments came as China Unicom reported an 8.9 percent increase in net profit to RMB3.8 billion in the first six months of this year, while revenue rose 4 percent to RMB35.1 billion. China Netcom said its net profit in the first half of 2008 rose 11.9 percent to RMB5.9 billion, while revenue fell 0.15 percent to RMB40.6 billion.