China Telecom (NYSE: CHA; 00728.HK) has released the results of its IPTV set-top box (STB) tender completed in late October, which aims to satisfy the operator's requirements through June 2012. An individual involved in the bidding said that the top ten manufacturers participating had been selected, with the top five being chosen as "Class One" manufacturers, and the remainder as "Class Two" manufacturers.
China Telecom announced its IPTV terminals tender on September 6. The tender covered 2.83 mln IPTV SD devices and 880,000 HD IPTV devices. 15 manufacturers competed in the bidding for the 2.83 mln SD devices, and 17 for the 880,000 HD terminals.
Winning bids were assigned as follows: within the entire China Telecom group, Class One manufacturers will have a total share of no less than 80% in any given province, and Class Two manufacturers will have a total share of no more than 20%, with suppliers to be recommended by the operator's provincial subsidiaries, and with specific market allocation to be determined by China Telecom. In principle, there will be an average of two to three SD and HD suppliers recommended by provincial subsidiaries. If a provincial subsidiary only selects two suppliers, there must be one supplier from each category; if the subsidiary selects three suppliers, then at least two must be Class One suppliers.
2011 China Telecom IPTV Terminal Procurement Bid Rankings:
SD IPTV Terminals:
Class One: Huawei Technologies, Shenzhen Skyworth Digital Technology, Fiberhome Telecommunication Technologies (600498.SH), ZTE (00763.HK 000063.SZ), and Shanghai DareGlobal Info Tech.
Class Two: Alcatel-Lucent Shanghai Bell (ASB), Jiangsu Yinhe Electronics (002519.SZ), Sichuan Changhong (600839.SH), Sunniwell Broadband Digital Science & Technology, and Chengdu 30Kaitian Communication Industry.
HD IPTV Terminals:
Class One: Qware Technology Group (represented by Cisco), Huawei Technologies, Sichuan Changhong, ZTE, and Shenzhen Skyworth Digital Technology.
Class Two: Fiberhome Telecommunication Technologies, Ericsson, Chengdu 30Kaitian Communication Industry, UTStarcom (Nasdaq: UTSI), Shanghai DareGlobal Info Tech, and Chinese online video site LeTV (300104.SZ).