New cell phones in Asia

　　HONG KONG—Ericsson,Nokia and other equipment makers have brought in as much as $170 billion worth of orders for new cell phone networks in Europe. Will they find the same gold mine in Asia?

　　Analysts say don't bet on it. Asia has yet to fully recover from its three-year-long economic turmoil, and investors are worried telecommuications companies are spending too much on nwe mobile phone licenses and networks in Europe.

　　That adds up to concern that equipment makers will have a tougher time selling their newest a lukewarm response when equipment makers meet their biggest Asian customers this week at the ITU Telecom Asia 2000 conference in Hong Kong.

　　Among the companies showcasing their latest products for Internet and other telecommunications networks will be Lucent Techologies and Cisco Systems, the two biggest providers of communications equipment.

　　Other giants, such as Ericsson, Nokia, Motorola and Siemens, will also be on hand eyeing opportunities in Asia. Hong Kong, Korea and Singapore are preparing to award licenses for so-called third-generation (3G) phone networks, which will enable handsets to handle high-speed data downloads from music to movies.

　　The stakes couldn't be higher. The cost of network permits may rise to as much as $10 billion in Singapore, Hong Kong and Korea alone, Analysts say the cost may make operators more conservaive when spending on 3G networks.

　　The need for funds comes at a difficult time.

　　Even so, suppliers remain undeterred, and some analysts question the assumption that fund-raising will be tough, especially for services like high-speed wireless Internet connections that promise higher returns for operators.

　　Cell phone operators expect more than 50 percent of all phone traffic and revenue to come from data transmissions in the nest five to 10 years. up from an average among Asian operators of about 5 percent now.

　　Foxnews

　　Notes:

　　1. lukewarm:不冷不热

　　2. ITU:国际电信同盟

　　3.lucent Technology朗讯科技

　　4.Cisco System:思科网设备制造商