IR News

-    The only Korean company to participate in the establishment of COMMIT- a TD-SCDMA research entity established to develop Chinese 3G technology
-    COMMIT inauguration ceremony held on March 2 with participation of Vice Minister of the Ministry of Information Industry of China, Chairman of TI and head of CATT
-    COMMIT is a joint venture with 17 leading companies in and out of China including Nokia and TI
-    To design and develop applications of 3G mobile communication services
-    To lead China's 3G mobile communication technology leveraging on the accumulated technology in CDMA


LG Electronics has become a full partner in the development of TD-SCDMA (Time Division-Synchronous Code Division Multiple Access) technology, the next generation mobile communication to be developed with China's own technologies.

LGE is partnering with 17 companies including globally leading telecom companies such as Nokia and TI (Texas Instruments) as well as major industry leaders in China to establish COMMIT - the TD-SCDMA technology R&D entity to be set up as a joint stock limited company. LGE will be the only Korean participant.

Top executives from the participating 17 companies and senior officials of the government of China attended the COMMIT inauguration ceremony held on March 2 at the Beijing Telecom Hotel in China including Executive Vice President, Jong-eun Kim of LGE Information and Communication Company, Vice Minister Qu Wei-Zhi of the Ministry of Information Industry, Chairman Tom Engibous of TI, President Zhou Huan of CATT (China Academy of Telecommunications Technology), and President Urpo Karjalainen of Nokia China.

COMMIT, the TD-SCDMA technology R&D venture to be established in Shanghai was set up to build the foundation for 3G mobile services with technology developed in China. Aiming to promote the growth of China's mobile industry and 3G technology, the company is built with a 6-member Core Group (LGE, Nokia, TI and others) and 11-member Middle Group that act as the partners to this joint stock limited company.

LGE is participating as a member of the Core Group, which will be responsible for development of 3G handsets. Other Core Group members include TI, the leader of chip solution development, and Nokia, the global No. 1 in handsets. The participation will allow LGE to secure TD-SCDMA technology, which is expected to be adopted as the 3G standard in China, ahead of others and thereby give the company a strong competitive edge in 3G technology.

TD-SCDMA technology is a combination of TDMA: Time Division Multiple Access) and CDMA: Code Division Multiple Access). Until now Datang Telecom Technology Industry Group of China and Siemens of Germany have been working together for standardization. TD-SCDMA was approved as one of 3G mobile standards by ITU in 1999, and is expected to become one of 3 main offerings of 3G services in China along with W-CDMA and cdma2000.

With China focused on securing its own 3G TD-SCDMA technology, 17 companies (9 Chinese, 8 foreign) including LGE, Nokia and TI have been working together with CATT since June last year to establish COMMIT to secure proprietary intellectual property rights to TD-SCDMA technology and to develop related applications.

COMMIT is being established to further enhance the status of China - mobile communication industry by accelerating the growth of China - mobile communication offerings by combining introduction of foreign technology while developing China's own technology. It will also develop operation platforms for multimedia handsets and secure R&D capabilities for 3G products to create China's own 3G brand and intellectual property rights.

With focus of 3G technologies of TD-SCDMA, W-CDMA and cdma2000-1x, COMMIT will engage in the design of IC and multimedia products, sales of products/solutions of its own design, production/sales of application software, and technology consulting and technology outsourcing service.

It is very encouraging that LGE has the opportunity to actively engage in the growth of the 3G mobile business and technology in China as the only Korean partner in COMMIT," said Executive Vice President Jong-eun Kim of LGE Information and Communication Company. "With the establishment of COMMIT, LGE will leverage its world' first commercial CDMA technology and its own manufacturing skills for latest-edge mobile handsets to not only help China make the next leap forward for the next generation mobile service, but also [help LGE] secure world leading technologies through close partnership with other partners in the venture."