Furthermore, handsets enabling multimedia functions on WCDMA technology are simply too bulky and too heavy to lure users to sign up to faster mobile services -- not to mention short battery life and spotty coverage.
In the CDMA2000 camp, mobile wireless services providers in Japan and South Korea are making quite a good transition. Take KDDI Corp, Japan's No. 2 mobile operator. It garnered 6 million users in the first year after launching its data-oriented 3G service package called "Au." KTF Co of South Korea also set another good example.
TT: Some industry watchers have a bearish outlook about 3G services, saying that the growing hotspots using so-called wireless LAN technology could outshine the comparatively pricey 3G technology. Can you comment on that?
Hsu: We think wireless LAN technology can play a complementary role to 3G networks, which have greater mobility.
People can access e-mail, play games, or browse the Internet through their cellphones, in their offices, at home or in restaurants.
In Japan, we already see people busy working on their mobile phones on the MRT. When they get to a coffee shop with a "hotspot," they can take out their laptops and do the same things as they were doing on their mobile phones.
We believe Taiwan will follow that trend, too.
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