Information and Communication Minister Ahn Byung-yub announced to a news conference that, The government decided to delay the deadline until a consortium takes concrete shape however, no information was given as to when this deadline would be. The original deadline was set for the end of February with a view to selecting one cdma2000 operator by mid March. Ahn revealed that the government had given up on its hopes of finding a cdma2000 operator by mid-March, though added he did not expect the search to last beyond the first half of this year.
Korea Telecom and SK Telecom have both opted to use the W-CDMA platform, touted by handset manufacturers such as Nokia and Ericsson, which has a wider worldwide user base.
Minister Ahn explained that shareholders of LG and POSCO appeared to be concerned as to the profitability of cdma2000-based 3G services. They may join the (Hanaro’s) consortium not as major shareholders but as minor ones. The ministry is talking with them, he reported.
