China Unicom is making final preparations for the country's first nationwide CDMA (code division multiple access) network. The network switching of the original 600,000 CDMA customers has started, Lu Jianguo, vice-president of the company, told China Daily on Friday.

These 600,000 customers had earlier adopted CDMA services provided by the military-backed Great Wall Telecom. The network will be shut down by the end of next year and give way to Unicom's new CDMA network.

Customers can keep their original telephone numbers but will need to buy a new mobile phone due to technology problems, according to Unicom.

As compensation, Unicom will provide free air time up to 50 yuan (US$6) per month for the coming two and a half years. Unicom is also discussing with Samsung and Motorola, the major terminal suppliers for Great Wall's network, ways to minimize customer spending, Lu said.

The Beijing Municipality and Hebei Province have the most Great Wall CDMA customers, with 54,000 and 300,000 respectively.

The network switching started recently, but some customers are dissatisfied with the present compensation terms.

"We are trying to do all we can to solve the problems brought on by the Great Wall military network," Lu said.

Unicom's GSM service charge is 45 yuan (US$5.5) for the monthly basic fee and 0.36 yuan (US$0.04) per minute, 10 per cent less than charges for the China Mobile service.

Unicom will adopt special rules for big users, such as giving customers preferential items based on the number of phone calls made, according to Lu.

The 19 licensed CDMA mobile phone makers have produced 25 models. That number will increase along with customer growth, the vice-president said.

Unicom's CDMA network has become the focus of the international telecom industry, as it will soon rank first with 50 million users within three years.

The official CDMA launching will kick off after New Year's Day, and provincial branches are busy making final tests, Lu said.