China Unicom, the country's second-largest cellular operator, is on a mission to provide the best of both worlds.

In the mobile industry, there are two major mobile phone technologies: GSM and CDMA. Both provide most of the same services, but because of technical differences, the phones are incompatible with the other type of network.

But Unicom has been trying to bridge the technological difference, and yesterday announced it had purchased 100,000 more dual-mode mobile phone units meaning users can switch between GSM and CDMA networks, and GSM users can enjoy high-speed CDMA-based data service offered by Unicom.

The dual-mode service is designed to prevent Unicom's GSM users from switching to other service providers and lure China Mobile's GSM users to subscribe to Unicom's CDMA service.

"Some high-end users of China Mobile are also using the dual-mode mobile phones," Unicom Vice-President Yang Xiaowei said.

Unicom launched the dual-mode service last August under the brand of "World Wind."

China Unicom last year ordered a total of 500,000 units of such phones from Motorola, Samsung and LG.

The dual-mode service last year signed up more than 300,000 subscribers, said Yang.

Unicom, one of the few telecoms firms in the world operating two different mobile networks, has been shifting its focus to the more promising CDMA network service in recent months.

Unicom officials yesterday also indicated the firm would continue subsidizing CDMA mobile phones to boost subscription base.

Mobile phone subsidies have been putting Unicom under financial pressure and the firm in June said it would cut and even gradually cancel subsidies.

Yu Yingtao, deputy general manager in charge of Unicom's mobile phone business, said Unicom will "moderately" increase purchasing CDMA handsets from manufacturers next year as part of its intensifying efforts to penetrate into the mobile phone sales.

Unicom yesterday also formed an alliance with China's largest home appliance retailer Gome to promote the CDMA service.

Under a deal, Gome will launch 100 flagship sales shops in its sprawling outlets across the country to sell CDMA handsets in the first quarter of next year.

Handset sales currently account for about 20 percent of total revenues of Hong Kong-listed Gome.

Yu said Unicom would soon launch some new models supporting the popular instant messaging services such as MSN messenger and QQ to attract young subscribers.

The firm earlier this month clinched a strategic alliance with Microsoft's MSN division to promote the MSN messenger service on the CDMA mobile phones.

Hong Kong-listed China Unicom Ltd had 93.19 million GSM subscribers and 32.17 million CDMA users by October.

(China Daily December 20, 2005)