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China Telecom Mulls Entry Into US Telecoms Market
hackingbear excerpts from a story at Engadget: "Instead of resting on its laurels as China's third-largest wireless provider, China Telecom is now looking to branch out into relatively uncharted waters — namely, the U.S. consumer market. ... The proposed service would provide customers with handsets that could be used in both China and the U.S., theoretically appealing to Chinese-Americans, students or businessmen who travel frequently between the two countries ... and would even consider purchasing or constructing its own network in the States,' with the 'capacity to spend 'hundreds of millions or billions' on stateside acquisitions.' At its home turf, despite being a state-owned company, China Telecom, along with China Unicom, is being investigated over alleged monopolistic practices by the Chinese government. The two companies would face penalties of up to 10 percent of their annual business revenues if they were found guilty of monopolistic practices. This is the first such investigation into China's large enterprises since the Anti-Monopoly Law came into effect in 2008."
Certainly more competition is good, especially in the mobile phone market where there's barely any.
But to trust a phone service from a country known for stifling free speech... I think you'd have to be a little crazy.
There's no -1 for "I don't get it."
I'm Mao Tse-Tung, and I approve this message.
"That's the way to do it" - Punch
Wait, how is that "Chinese == bad"? The summary merely states that China Telecom is being investigated for monopolistic practices. That's a fact, not an opinion.
-- Let us endeavor so to live that when we pass even the undertaker shall be sorry. -- M. Twain
says angry chinese astro turfier.
China Telecom wouldn't need to purchase, or operate, a network in the US, to offer the supposed "China-US Traveller" service. They could simply negotiate for low cost roaming with established networks.
This is a move to gather intelligence.
Contemplate.
I can think of no better political target for our useless politicians to distract us with than the threat of a Chinese telecom, no matter how good it may or may not be.
Well if you can't conquer them, buy them out. It always works.
Go China, maybe US customers will have a hint of good competition in the market place for once.
Am I the only one that T-mobile came to mind? I mean if AT&T can't make a deal with them, I'm sure China Telecom would have the $.
I'm glad China is trying to clean up the corruption in their system, but there's little point if they don't allow competing political parties. An investigation of a state owned company by the state is somewhat suspicious in a democratic system, but when there's only one party, it's goddamn pointless.
-- Let us endeavor so to live that when we pass even the undertaker shall be sorry. -- M. Twain
At its home turf, despite being a state-owned company, China Telecom, along with China Unicom, is being investigated over alleged monopolistic practices by the Chinese government.
Sounds like it would fit right in here.
The two companies would face penalties of up to 10 percent of their annual business revenues if they were found guilty of monopolistic practices.
Wait, they might actually get punished? Never mind then, won't fit into the U.S. market.
I was going to say something about not trusting a Chinese-government-owned telecoms company, but then I realized who their competition is.
They'll need to be seriously cheap to overcome the power of Yellow Peril 2.0. Or name themselves Freedom Eagle Bacon Gun-tel.
"When information is power, privacy is freedom" - Jah-Wren Ryel
The worry is that they'd tap your calls and send everything back to China.
Yep, I know, the USofA may already be tapping your calls.
Mitt, is this a war declaration?! Huntsman, no it's business as usual. Cain? 9-9-9! Perry lets combat those Koreans, Vietnamese, and that, err... Palin, Russia! No, that, err, third country.
China Telecom, along with China Unicom, is being investigated over alleged monopolistic practices.
This shows that they are well prepared to be a telecom company in the US.
LOVE IT.
The idea that China cheats at business and now, they want to use monopoly status in China to come over to the west. This is SUCH a good idea.
I prefer the "u" in honour as it seems to be missing these days.
Actually, if they're being investigated for monopolistic practices, that equates to "Chinese == good". I wish the government here in the USA bothered to investigate alleged monopolistic practices. When was the last time that happened here?
When this happens, I'm there. I'll be their first customer.
This looks to the future where China manages all US infrastructure. Where will it end? One can only imagine.
Chinese management and control of the power grid? Water/sewer? National highway repair? Health care?
For all the bad things people will point out, the sum total is that people will get much better services for the money. The Chinese motivation for doing things in an expert, professional manner will more than compensate for the loss of government control.
Your trade is for a government which grants a lot of freedoms, and a government which curtails some of your freedoms (but generally leaving you alone) in a world where all the services run perfectly. And the freedoms granted in the first case seem to be evaporating in any event.
The Chinese couldn't be *that* much worse than the US, and for good infrastructure I'm willing to take the chance.
The worry is that they'd tap your calls and send everything back to China.
Who cares? Even if the government is not tapping calls already, some network engineer could be listening in for fun on any phone provider you are already using.
Phone conversations are about the least secure form of communication these days; treat it as such.
"There is more worth loving than we have strength to love." - Brian Jay Stanley
The people have the freedom, and grant the government specific powers.
At least how the system was set up to be. YMMV
This may be a good wakeup call for the US mobile operators. There have been many reports of spotty coverage that go unfix for long time, bad customer services, bad pricing/overcharging/mandatory data plan/roaming fees. If China Telecom does expand into US, I don't know how well they will do; but I would guess they would do quite a few things differently otherwise they wouldn't invest to enter a somewhat already saturated market.
They investigate all the time, but almost without exception* they take no action.
*There have been some notable exceptions in the past, but nothing I know of in the last 10 years.
I've lived in China, and found it to be cheap but crappy for internet, but good *and* cheap for mobiles. Support was clueless, but they tried to make an effort. By effort, I mean, came onsight to figure out what was wrong with my configuration. By clueless, I mean, they couldn't figure out why a Mac couldn't use crappy Windows dialing software. For Chinese Windows, they'd probably be pretty good.
As opposed to Australia, where you don't even get cheap, and mobile reception sucks; and support is often a guy in a developing country who takes half an hour to answer the phone, and lacks training. Because obviously telecommuters in developing countries are just too expensive to train properly, and you don't want to hire so many of them that they might be able to twiddle their thumbs between customers.
Deja vu.
China Telecom Mulls Entry Into US Telecoms Market
No problem. But China Telecom must do so through a joint venture where they only get 49% ownership and their partners with 51% must be domestic US companies. I'm sure China Telecom will understand how this is the manner in which to invest in a foreign country while tailoring operations to the foreign culture and history and thereby maximizing success. A win-win for everyone right?
One day you will fuck up and post using your account and we will all laugh our asses off.
If we believe in competition, capitalism, blah blah blah,then lets let them put their money where their mouth is. If it is truly cheaper than that is a good thing, especially with our telecoms trying to consolidate into one big conglomerate monopoly. ...as for the industrial espionage,give the cheap phones to your teenage daughters. Then the chinese can listen to all their drama, random banter, and the latest on lil' bieber.
Finally a telecom company that has lots of experience working with the government.
Your trade is for a government which grants a lot of freedoms, and a government which curtails some of your freedoms (but generally leaving you alone) in a world where all the services run perfectly.
Okay. I must take issue with "generally leaving you alone." This is utter and complete bullshit. When the recent news is that 39 of the largest companies in China are agreeing to begin their own censorship initiatives under guidance of the Chinese government I have to ask you one question: If you were to give any political party in America complete control of what comes in and out of our TVs, Radios, Computers, Cellphones, etc how many Americans do you think it is going to affect?
Let's say you got lucky and you agree with the Communist Party. Okay, so that's "generally leaving you alone"? Or is it completely prohibiting you from ever being exposed to any information -- no matter how true or false or unverified -- that could give you a second thought about your party line?
Let me be the first to say that the second such a scenario affects anyone of my countrymen, I am no longer being left alone. Censorship for the sole interests of a political regime is unacceptable.
Here's a "rumor" for you: The United States government will readily murder non-citizens for oil. Is it true? Who cares? I just said it! Try saying anything like that about the Chinese government while you're on their little telecom service and enjoy your slow decline as you are forced to view the world through their custom-made-ever-shifting looking glass.
My work here is dung.
It's not tolerable to KNOW that the NSA, CIA, FBI, and our local police can listen in without warrant or our knowledge.
It's idiotic to add Chinese espionage to the mix.
Luke, help me take this mask off
China Telecom Mulls Entry Into US Telecoms Market
No problem. But China Telecom must do so through a joint venture where they only get 49% ownership and their partners with 51% must be domestic US companies. I'm sure China Telecom will understand how this is the manner in which to invest in a foreign country while tailoring operations to the foreign culture and history and thereby maximizing success. A win-win for everyone right?
Oops. I forgot. China Telecom must also turn over the designs of their products to their US partners. This will allow for better adaptation and localization to the US market. Another win-win for everyone right?
Not much difference with iOS:
Crash when firing up the App store when upgrading.
Crash when firing up Photos.
Locked out of accounts for 8 hours with "fatal errors" on Apple's end.
Springboard crash.
Oh, this is a non-JB-ed phone. The only difference is that you get dumped to Springboard, or the lock screen without a "force close" button.
Losing access to my iCloud stuff made me realize how dependent I am on that account... lose the account for good, and I'm out big bucks for apps, songs, videos, and plenty of other things. At least if I lose access to my Google account, I can still restore my phone using nandroid or Titanium Backup.
So, the grass is greener... both Android and iOS need some improvement.
they poisoned our baby formula, candy, toothpaste, pet food, etc.; sell us radioactive drywall; put lead in our baby toys; spy on us; shamelessly counterfeit all kinds of technologies and products; used google to censor and limit information; and now they want to run our phones?!?! FUCK NO!!
(didn't mention tiananmen square or tibet, since if that mattered to anyone we'd be doing something about it already)
insensitive clod overlords obligatory xkcd car analogy russian reversals whoosh pedant fanbois ftfy in 3...2...1..PROFIT
Okay, you value freedom of speech very highly. It's a fair point.
Now let's see if your valuation of that right should be applied to everyone.
1) Would you sign an NDA preventing you from badmouthing a company, in return for universal health care from that company?
2) Would you sign that NDA if a parent were diagnosed with cancer?
3) Would you sign that NDA if *you* were diagnosed with cancer?
4) Would you prevent all others from signing that NDA, in those circumstances?
It's not quite as cut-and-dried as you make it out to be. Many people think speech should be restricted for subjects that they feel strongly about: hate speech, bullying speech, Fox News bias, and so on. The opinion that freedom of speech is priceless and immutable is not universal by a long shot.
Just because you don't like it, doesn't mean that it's not the best choice for everyone.
When I was visiting my brothers in Georgia, we heard a news report that Ashville, NC had been labelled a "Cesspool of Sin" by one of the local legislators due to the large number of "hippies, liberals and textile artists". I can understand a cesspool of sin. I can't understand why a Chinese telecom company operating in the US is a good idea. What could possibly go wrong with tons of Chinese-owned communications equipment scattered around the country?
Sorry, but gray text on gray background is making my eyes bleed.
For all the bad things people will point out, the sum total is that people will get much better services for the money. The Chinese motivation for doing things in an expert, professional manner will more than compensate for the loss of government control.
You're joking, right? You seem to labor under the mistaken impression that the Chinese have replicated and scaled up the Japanese example of the '70's - '90's that you've likely familiar with. In reality, they're emulating the Japanese example of the '00's - '30's, featuring a rapid build up of manufacturing and infrastructure, while externalizing much of the cost of doing it "right".
That's not necessarily the "wrong" approach. Make it work now, make it work beautifully later is a path all OECD economies have trod at one point or another. "Have trod" being the operative phrase.
So, yes, the Chinese could be *that* much worse. Across the developing world, the tendency is to contract out to Chinese firms for infrastructure they're willing to cut corners on, but go for US, European, Korean, or Brazilian firms when they need it done right the first time.
Luke, help me take this mask off
Create posters where on one side you see someone making a phone call, and on the other side a couple of chinese sitting at a big box wearing big, old style headphones, smiling at each other and thumbs-up, while being dressed in green Mao-suits.
The caller has a text-balloon "Can you hear me now?"
The Chinese have a thought-balloon (Hai! We hear you perfectly!)
If China Telecom responds by making similar posters featuring NSA-types in black suits, we still win.
"This is the first such investigation into China's large enterprises since the Anti-Monopoly Law came into effect in 2008."
Does anyone else get the impression China is in many ways like America about a century ago? Maybe their problems with pollution, labour rights, monopolies, etc, aren't so much reflections of its style of government, but rather common symptoms of competitive industralisation.
Probably they can mature faster than America, since communications and other technology (and examples from history) are so much more advanced now.
Maybe in 20 years they'll have labour unions and clear air and water.
(... for protesting, it's a lack of characters folks)
Though really you're on my list of guys to send a postcard to from State sayin' "Glad you're not here". The US pretends to tolerate a wee bit of grumbling, it's our national circus, but if someone really get rolling, they either need to make a couple friends in high places or a couple dollars in high places to avoid "4th hand retribution".
My first Journal Entry ever, in 8 years! http://slashdot.org/journal/365947/aphelion-scifi-fantasy-horror-poetry-webzine
Yes, look at all those Occupy folks we're carting off to internment camps.
I suppose if you wanted to be really ridiculous you could show me a handful who got arrested for actually breaking the law, and call that free speech supression....
Hiya Sir Limecat!
I mean me as in the "universal me", the non-visible protester. I've done a modest pro-rights campaign here for years now, but I almost always keep the tone down. But medium-soon I'll step on the wrong toe and that's it. That's the threat. It take a Canary Server to help mitigate that.
"Today I was not carted off to a Gulag by the Government. Today I was not carted off to a Gulag by the Government. Today I was not carted off to a Gulag by the Government. ... " ((Crickets))
My first Journal Entry ever, in 8 years! http://slashdot.org/journal/365947/aphelion-scifi-fantasy-horror-poetry-webzine
Except complaining about getting carted off to the Gulag in the US doesnt raise awareness, it just makes everyone think youre a nutcase who lacks perspective.
If you want to raise awareness about the worst parts of government try, I dont know, complaining about actual, real problems.
so loud I woke up my wife and kids.
--- Grow a pair, liberals... stop letting the Republicans bully you!
we already have enough shitty chinese products, i'd rather not have the chinese government drop my calls, because they don't like what I'm saying
So let me get this right; ....In other words the government is just increasing it's cut into these companies before they come here to the US. ...and then the Chinese government can snoop on all American citizns by tapping their mobile phones....Hummm....We must looks so stupid to Chinese government.:-)
A state run Chinese Telecom and another state run Chinese telecom are being sued by the Chinese government (state) for "monopolistic" behaviors and if found guilty, they will have "to pay the government (state) 10% of their income"