Brief: TSI signs China Unicom contract

TSI Telecommunication Services Inc. (TSI) (www.tsiconnections.com) has signed contracts with China Unicom to provide seamless CDMA international roaming services for its growing wireless subscriber base. Industry projections predict that CDMA subscribers in China will hit 55 million by 2005.

With TSI's services, China Unicom subscribers will now be able to use a single handset and mobile number to make and receive calls on a number of CDMA networks across the Asia Pacific region, North America and Latin America.

"International roaming is essential to compete in the wireless network arena, said Wang Jianzhou, China Unicom president. TSI has expertise in providing international roaming connectivity and working with CDMA operators to solve interoperability issues. The contracts with TSI are the prerequisite for China Unicom's CDMA international roaming service."

"With China taking a leadership role in the growth of wireless communications, this is an exciting time to do business in Asia," said Michael Hartman, TSI president. "Our contract with China Unicom demonstrates our commitment to solve global interoperability so wireless subscribers worldwide can enjoy seamless service."

TSI will supply China Unicom with a multiservice offering that includes clearinghouse services for roaming revenue settlement and exchange; ANSI-41 signaling interoperability; a near-real time, on-line customer management application used to track and troubleshoot roamers; and SMS routing, which will enable SMS mobile termination for China Unicom subscribers who are roaming internationally.

China Unicom's CDMA network was scheduled for construction in October 2001. The commercialization is planned for the end of this year or early next year. The phase one project is planned with an initial capacity of 15 million lines which cover 300 cities across China.