SHANGHAI, China - When Rui Shi Huang was led through the rear door of a shop in China Mobile on the first day of April last year, I had no idea he was going to be at the heart of one of the most important events in the history of telecommunications in China.
Turned out that Shi was elected to be the first person to subscribe first ever in China to launch third generation (3G) mobile phone services. His face appeared in newspapers and on television for weeks. Even today still known by many simply as "the kind of 3G."
"It was like I was as President Hu Jintao," Shi said in jest.
Shi, a fashion for 31 years who works in advertising and can be spotted using your favorite pair of cowboy boots in black, smoking cigarettes while gold-tipped, is exactly the type of customer in China, mobile operators will be expected one of the first to subscribe to 3G services.
First introduced in Japan a decade ago, wireless networks to 3G subscribers faster Internet connections, which means music, movies and games can be more easily downloaded, e-mail can be accessed much faster and other applications multimedia such as instant messaging and video conferencing are possible in a mobile phone.
After a slow start, 3G is widely used today in Japan and Korea, but has been less than stellar adoption rates throughout Europe and the United States, where the uptake has been blocked because of expensive equipment and pricing plans , poor network coverage and lack of consumer interest.
For years, Beijing has delayed the deployment of next generation networks largely to technology to complete their home 3G standard called TD-SCDMA, which many experts say it was developed to reduce dependence on foreign technology in China and stimulate the growth of its telecommunications industry.
Last spring, the government began testing the new model to select among customers - Shi was the first - in a handful of cities and last month announced it will issue 3G licenses to three state-owned mobile telephone carriers. China Mobile, the dominant supplier by far, received the license for TD-SCDMA, while China Telecom and China Unicom were given licenses to international standards used in Europe and the United States.
The companies jointly announced that they spend nearly $ 60 billion over the next several years to build their 3G networks, while the government has set targets of tens of millions of subscribers in 2011.
Now that the guessing game over China, when they finally issue 3G licenses is over, many experts are wondering what, if any, impact the next generation networks will have the largest mobile phone market in world.
"That is a question of millions of dollars," said Benjamin Joffe, founder of the Beijing-based Internet and mobile Plus8Star consulting firm. "Essentially, if you want to know how a market with 10 years of experience doing the simplest thing to do is look at Japan."
Although some say that the success of 3G in Japan is mainly advertising, the country that has more than 80 percent adoption rates, has become home to a thriving mobile ecosystem, "said Joffe, noting that The second generation (2G) phones are no longer sold there.
Two of the richest companies in mobile social networks in the world are based in Japan, along with a number of other highly profitable companies that have developed the content and even cooler to cool applications such as mobile commerce and mobile auction for 3G phones .
Similar businesses have begun to emerge in China and are creating mobile platforms for the wisdom of technologically young, hungry for entertainment on the move and on 3G phones by striking.
"It's very good for us," said Alvin Wang Grayline, based in Shanghai, the mobile search and ad provider MINFO placed to benefit from 3G's increased speed. "[Subscribers] are used more and more mobile Internet services, mobile data, the most ad inventory," he said.
According to Frost & Sullivan, senior industry analyst Marc Einstein, even without 3G networks and telecommunications Chinese earn more than 20 percent of their income from the use of non-voice data such as text messaging and ringtone downloads, which is on a par with airlines in the United States, where high-speed networks have been in place for years.
"I think this bodes well for future recruitment in the market," said Einstein. "China is by leaps and bounds ahead of most other emerging markets such as India, where the figure is over 10 percent."
But unlike users of other 3G markets, China has much less cash, which means its widespread adoption in May was reduced to one thing: the cost. In a country where the average income per capita is only a few thousand dollars a year, the next generation of wireless services can be prohibitive for a while.
"In terms of immediate impact on the market will be very limited as in any other country to launch 3G - in the first two years, nothing happened," said Joffe. "There will be no miracles."
But if the prices are affordable, especially on the handset side, some believe that the demand for 3G will be driven by consumers in the second and third tier of cities that want to simply access the Web.
"Pure Internet use will be a great driver," said Nokia spokesman. "Today there is already a very large number of Internet users and the first time they enter the Internet through their mobile phones."
And for the first time, consumers can have more power than ever to shape the state-controlled telecommunications industry, which was restructured last year to pave the way for the introduction of 3G and greater competition.
Faced with China Mobile unproven TD-SCDMA network that works mainly with less fashionable phones national companies, many Chinese may decide to switch to other airlines that have tested the 3G standards and are compatible with the brand of phones foreign mobile manufacturers.
"I think consumers will ultimately be smarter, and that is a challenge for China Mobile," Duncan Clark, chairman of the consulting firm BDA China said.
"There is a good market in China," added Clark. "Chinese like to adopt technologies and show them off."
Shi, who switches to mobile phones at least twice a year, says it is already on the lookout for the next cool phone to flash around in front of their friends. But when it comes to talk of being the first 3G subscribers in China, is a little less exuberant.
"It is a very important thing in my life," he said while smoking a cigarette and drinking tea gold. "It was just a joke."
"It was like I was as President Hu Jintao," Shi said in jest.
Shi, a fashion for 31 years who works in advertising and can be spotted using your favorite pair of cowboy boots in black, smoking cigarettes while gold-tipped, is exactly the type of customer in China, mobile operators will be expected one of the first to subscribe to 3G services.
First introduced in Japan a decade ago, wireless networks to 3G subscribers faster Internet connections, which means music, movies and games can be more easily downloaded, e-mail can be accessed much faster and other applications multimedia such as instant messaging and video conferencing are possible in a mobile phone.
After a slow start, 3G is widely used today in Japan and Korea, but has been less than stellar adoption rates throughout Europe and the United States, where the uptake has been blocked because of expensive equipment and pricing plans , poor network coverage and lack of consumer interest.
For years, Beijing has delayed the deployment of next generation networks largely to technology to complete their home 3G standard called TD-SCDMA, which many experts say it was developed to reduce dependence on foreign technology in China and stimulate the growth of its telecommunications industry.
Last spring, the government began testing the new model to select among customers - Shi was the first - in a handful of cities and last month announced it will issue 3G licenses to three state-owned mobile telephone carriers. China Mobile, the dominant supplier by far, received the license for TD-SCDMA, while China Telecom and China Unicom were given licenses to international standards used in Europe and the United States.
The companies jointly announced that they spend nearly $ 60 billion over the next several years to build their 3G networks, while the government has set targets of tens of millions of subscribers in 2011.
Now that the guessing game over China, when they finally issue 3G licenses is over, many experts are wondering what, if any, impact the next generation networks will have the largest mobile phone market in world.
"That is a question of millions of dollars," said Benjamin Joffe, founder of the Beijing-based Internet and mobile Plus8Star consulting firm. "Essentially, if you want to know how a market with 10 years of experience doing the simplest thing to do is look at Japan."
Although some say that the success of 3G in Japan is mainly advertising, the country that has more than 80 percent adoption rates, has become home to a thriving mobile ecosystem, "said Joffe, noting that The second generation (2G) phones are no longer sold there.
Two of the richest companies in mobile social networks in the world are based in Japan, along with a number of other highly profitable companies that have developed the content and even cooler to cool applications such as mobile commerce and mobile auction for 3G phones .
Similar businesses have begun to emerge in China and are creating mobile platforms for the wisdom of technologically young, hungry for entertainment on the move and on 3G phones by striking.
"It's very good for us," said Alvin Wang Grayline, based in Shanghai, the mobile search and ad provider MINFO placed to benefit from 3G's increased speed. "[Subscribers] are used more and more mobile Internet services, mobile data, the most ad inventory," he said.
According to Frost & Sullivan, senior industry analyst Marc Einstein, even without 3G networks and telecommunications Chinese earn more than 20 percent of their income from the use of non-voice data such as text messaging and ringtone downloads, which is on a par with airlines in the United States, where high-speed networks have been in place for years.
"I think this bodes well for future recruitment in the market," said Einstein. "China is by leaps and bounds ahead of most other emerging markets such as India, where the figure is over 10 percent."
But unlike users of other 3G markets, China has much less cash, which means its widespread adoption in May was reduced to one thing: the cost. In a country where the average income per capita is only a few thousand dollars a year, the next generation of wireless services can be prohibitive for a while.
"In terms of immediate impact on the market will be very limited as in any other country to launch 3G - in the first two years, nothing happened," said Joffe. "There will be no miracles."
But if the prices are affordable, especially on the handset side, some believe that the demand for 3G will be driven by consumers in the second and third tier of cities that want to simply access the Web.
"Pure Internet use will be a great driver," said Nokia spokesman. "Today there is already a very large number of Internet users and the first time they enter the Internet through their mobile phones."
And for the first time, consumers can have more power than ever to shape the state-controlled telecommunications industry, which was restructured last year to pave the way for the introduction of 3G and greater competition.
Faced with China Mobile unproven TD-SCDMA network that works mainly with less fashionable phones national companies, many Chinese may decide to switch to other airlines that have tested the 3G standards and are compatible with the brand of phones foreign mobile manufacturers.
"I think consumers will ultimately be smarter, and that is a challenge for China Mobile," Duncan Clark, chairman of the consulting firm BDA China said.
"There is a good market in China," added Clark. "Chinese like to adopt technologies and show them off."
Shi, who switches to mobile phones at least twice a year, says it is already on the lookout for the next cool phone to flash around in front of their friends. But when it comes to talk of being the first 3G subscribers in China, is a little less exuberant.
"It is a very important thing in my life," he said while smoking a cigarette and drinking tea gold. "It was just a joke."
SHANGHAI, China - When Rui Shi Huang was led through the rear door of a shop in China Mobile on the first day of April last year, I had no idea he was going to be at the heart of one of the most important events in the history of telecommunications in China.
Turned out that Shi was elected to be the first person to subscribe first ever in China to launch third generation (3G) mobile phone services. His face appeared in newspapers and on television for weeks. Even today still known by many simply as "the kind of 3G."
"It was like I was as President Hu Jintao," Shi said in jest.
Shi, a fashion for 31 years who works in advertising and can be spotted using your favorite pair of cowboy boots in black, smoking cigarettes while gold-tipped, is exactly the type of customer in China, mobile operators will be expected one of the first to subscribe to 3G services.
First introduced in Japan a decade ago, wireless networks to 3G subscribers faster Internet connections, which means music, movies and games can be more easily downloaded, e-mail can be accessed much faster and other applications multimedia such as instant messaging and video conferencing are possible in a mobile phone.
After a slow start, 3G is widely used today in Japan and Korea, but has been less than stellar adoption rates throughout Europe and the United States, where the uptake has been blocked because of expensive equipment and pricing plans , poor network coverage and lack of consumer interest.
For years, Beijing has delayed the deployment of next generation networks largely to technology to complete their home 3G standard called TD-SCDMA, which many experts say it was developed to reduce dependence on foreign technology in China and stimulate the growth of its telecommunications industry.
Last spring, the government began testing the new model to select among customers - Shi was the first - in a handful of cities and last month announced it will issue 3G licenses to three state-owned mobile telephone carriers. China Mobile, the dominant supplier by far, received the license for TD-SCDMA, while China Telecom and China Unicom were given licenses to international standards used in Europe and the United States.
The companies jointly announced that they spend nearly $ 60 billion over the next several years to build their 3G networks, while the government has set targets of tens of millions of subscribers in 2011.
Now that the guessing game over China, when they finally issue 3G licenses is over, many experts are wondering what, if any, impact the next generation networks will have the largest mobile phone market in world.
"That is a question of millions of dollars," said Benjamin Joffe, founder of the Beijing-based Internet and mobile Plus8Star consulting firm. "Essentially, if you want to know how a market with 10 years of experience doing the simplest thing to do is look at Japan."
Although some say that the success of 3G in Japan is mainly advertising, the country that has more than 80 percent adoption rates, has become home to a thriving mobile ecosystem, "said Joffe, noting that The second generation (2G) phones are no longer sold there.
Two of the richest companies in mobile social networks in the world are based in Japan, along with a number of other highly profitable companies that have developed the content and even cooler to cool applications such as mobile commerce and mobile auction for 3G phones .
Similar businesses have begun to emerge in China and are creating mobile platforms for the wisdom of technologically young, hungry for entertainment on the move and on 3G phones by striking.
"It's very good for us," said Alvin Wang Grayline, based in Shanghai, the mobile search and ad provider MINFO placed to benefit from 3G's increased speed. "[Subscribers] are used more and more mobile Internet services, mobile data, the most ad inventory," he said.
According to Frost & Sullivan, senior industry analyst Marc Einstein, even without 3G networks and telecommunications Chinese earn more than 20 percent of their income from the use of non-voice data such as text messaging and ringtone downloads, which is on a par with airlines in the United States, where high-speed networks have been in place for years.
"I think this bodes well for future recruitment in the market," said Einstein. "China is by leaps and bounds ahead of most other emerging markets such as India, where the figure is over 10 percent."
But unlike users of other 3G markets, China has much less cash, which means its widespread adoption in May was reduced to one thing: the cost. In a country where the average income per capita is only a few thousand dollars a year, the next generation of wireless services can be prohibitive for a while.
"In terms of immediate impact on the market will be very limited as in any other country to launch 3G - in the first two years, nothing happened," said Joffe. "There will be no miracles."
But if the prices are affordable, especially on the handset side, some believe that the demand for 3G will be driven by consumers in the second and third tier of cities that want to simply access the Web.
"Pure Internet use will be a great driver," said Nokia spokesman. "Today there is already a very large number of Internet users and the first time they enter the Internet through their mobile phones."
And for the first time, consumers can have more power than ever to shape the state-controlled telecommunications industry, which was restructured last year to pave the way for the introduction of 3G and greater competition.
Faced with China Mobile unproven TD-SCDMA network that works mainly with less fashionable phones national companies, many Chinese may decide to switch to other airlines that have tested the 3G standards and are compatible with the brand of phones foreign mobile manufacturers.
"I think consumers will ultimately be smarter, and that is a challenge for China Mobile," Duncan Clark, chairman of the consulting firm BDA China said.
"There is a good market in China," added Clark. "Chinese like to adopt technologies and show them off."
Shi, who switches to mobile phones at least twice a year, says it is already on the lookout for the next cool phone to flash around in front of their friends. But when it comes to talk of being the first 3G subscribers in China, is a little less exuberant.
"It is a very important thing in my life," he said while smoking a cigarette and drinking tea gold. "It was just a joke."
Turned out that Shi was elected to be the first person to subscribe first ever in China to launch third generation (3G) mobile phone services. His face appeared in newspapers and on television for weeks. Even today still known by many simply as "the kind of 3G."
"It was like I was as President Hu Jintao," Shi said in jest.
Shi, a fashion for 31 years who works in advertising and can be spotted using your favorite pair of cowboy boots in black, smoking cigarettes while gold-tipped, is exactly the type of customer in China, mobile operators will be expected one of the first to subscribe to 3G services.
First introduced in Japan a decade ago, wireless networks to 3G subscribers faster Internet connections, which means music, movies and games can be more easily downloaded, e-mail can be accessed much faster and other applications multimedia such as instant messaging and video conferencing are possible in a mobile phone.
After a slow start, 3G is widely used today in Japan and Korea, but has been less than stellar adoption rates throughout Europe and the United States, where the uptake has been blocked because of expensive equipment and pricing plans , poor network coverage and lack of consumer interest.
For years, Beijing has delayed the deployment of next generation networks largely to technology to complete their home 3G standard called TD-SCDMA, which many experts say it was developed to reduce dependence on foreign technology in China and stimulate the growth of its telecommunications industry.
Last spring, the government began testing the new model to select among customers - Shi was the first - in a handful of cities and last month announced it will issue 3G licenses to three state-owned mobile telephone carriers. China Mobile, the dominant supplier by far, received the license for TD-SCDMA, while China Telecom and China Unicom were given licenses to international standards used in Europe and the United States.
The companies jointly announced that they spend nearly $ 60 billion over the next several years to build their 3G networks, while the government has set targets of tens of millions of subscribers in 2011.
Now that the guessing game over China, when they finally issue 3G licenses is over, many experts are wondering what, if any, impact the next generation networks will have the largest mobile phone market in world.
"That is a question of millions of dollars," said Benjamin Joffe, founder of the Beijing-based Internet and mobile Plus8Star consulting firm. "Essentially, if you want to know how a market with 10 years of experience doing the simplest thing to do is look at Japan."
Although some say that the success of 3G in Japan is mainly advertising, the country that has more than 80 percent adoption rates, has become home to a thriving mobile ecosystem, "said Joffe, noting that The second generation (2G) phones are no longer sold there.
Two of the richest companies in mobile social networks in the world are based in Japan, along with a number of other highly profitable companies that have developed the content and even cooler to cool applications such as mobile commerce and mobile auction for 3G phones .
Similar businesses have begun to emerge in China and are creating mobile platforms for the wisdom of technologically young, hungry for entertainment on the move and on 3G phones by striking.
"It's very good for us," said Alvin Wang Grayline, based in Shanghai, the mobile search and ad provider MINFO placed to benefit from 3G's increased speed. "[Subscribers] are used more and more mobile Internet services, mobile data, the most ad inventory," he said.
According to Frost & Sullivan, senior industry analyst Marc Einstein, even without 3G networks and telecommunications Chinese earn more than 20 percent of their income from the use of non-voice data such as text messaging and ringtone downloads, which is on a par with airlines in the United States, where high-speed networks have been in place for years.
"I think this bodes well for future recruitment in the market," said Einstein. "China is by leaps and bounds ahead of most other emerging markets such as India, where the figure is over 10 percent."
But unlike users of other 3G markets, China has much less cash, which means its widespread adoption in May was reduced to one thing: the cost. In a country where the average income per capita is only a few thousand dollars a year, the next generation of wireless services can be prohibitive for a while.
"In terms of immediate impact on the market will be very limited as in any other country to launch 3G - in the first two years, nothing happened," said Joffe. "There will be no miracles."
But if the prices are affordable, especially on the handset side, some believe that the demand for 3G will be driven by consumers in the second and third tier of cities that want to simply access the Web.
"Pure Internet use will be a great driver," said Nokia spokesman. "Today there is already a very large number of Internet users and the first time they enter the Internet through their mobile phones."
And for the first time, consumers can have more power than ever to shape the state-controlled telecommunications industry, which was restructured last year to pave the way for the introduction of 3G and greater competition.
Faced with China Mobile unproven TD-SCDMA network that works mainly with less fashionable phones national companies, many Chinese may decide to switch to other airlines that have tested the 3G standards and are compatible with the brand of phones foreign mobile manufacturers.
"I think consumers will ultimately be smarter, and that is a challenge for China Mobile," Duncan Clark, chairman of the consulting firm BDA China said.
"There is a good market in China," added Clark. "Chinese like to adopt technologies and show them off."
Shi, who switches to mobile phones at least twice a year, says it is already on the lookout for the next cool phone to flash around in front of their friends. But when it comes to talk of being the first 3G subscribers in China, is a little less exuberant.
"It is a very important thing in my life," he said while smoking a cigarette and drinking tea gold. "It was just a joke."