Six handset makers, including Lenovo and ZTE, were awarded the
first post-trial period access licenses to China's homegrown third
generation (3G) network on Wednesday, according to the TD-SCDMA
Industry Alliance.
The move indicated that the technology, TD-SCDMA (Time
Division-Synchronous Code Division Multiple Access), was entering
the commercial stage.
The licenses would immediately give Lenovo, ZTE, Hisense,
Samsung, LG and New Postcom opportunities to win procurement deals
from China Mobile.
In December, the nation's largest mobile operator said it
planned to purchase 30,000 TD-SCDMA mobile phones and 10,000 data
cards for 3G network trials.
China Mobile, China Telecom and China Netcom, three major
Chinese phone operators, are conducting network trials of TD-SCDMA
in 10 cities. China has promised to provide 3G mobile
communications services in time for the 2008 Beijing Olympics.
Some western governments and companies have accused China of
delaying the issue of 3G licenses to allow its home-grown standard
to mature enough to compete with foreign rivals, including WCDMA
and CDMA2000.
Xi Guohua, Vice-Minister of Information Industry, however,
pledged last year that the government would give equal status to
WCDMA and CDMA2000 despite its support for the domestic
standard.
(Xinhua News Agency February 1, 2008)