Massive network building for 3G (third-generation mobile communications) based on TD-SCDMA technology is feasible.

The country announced its field trial results of TD-SCDMA yesterday. TD-SCDMA stands for Time Division Synchronous Code Division Multiple Access. It is a 3G mobile telecommunications standard being pursued in China to develop home-grown technology.

The announcement indicates that the technological barrier to promoting the TD-SCDMA standard in China's 3G era is basically removed. However, concerns over wide-ranging commercial use still remain.

The results are believed to be a decisive factor when Chinese regulators issue 3G licenses. The Chinese Government is unlikely to issue licenses for 3G technology WCDMA or CDMA2000 operations before the TD-SCDMA standard is ready for commercial deployment. It has already invested more than 1 billion (US$123.3 million) in the research and development (R&D) of TD-SCDMA.

"TD-SCDMA technology has been tested and has shown that it can support large-scale network operations," said Wei Guiming, a senior engineer with the Telecoms Standard Institute of the Chinese Academy of Telecommunications Research, affiliated with the Ministry of Information Industry (MII). He was speaking at the "3G in China" Global Summit that kicked off yesterday.

Wei stressed the conclusion was based on detailed discussions among experts from MII. It was the first time MII has officially announced the trial results of TD-SCDMA.

According to Wei, item-specific trials for TD-SCDMA during the past few months have pushed forward the industrial and R&D process of the technology, and achieved major breakthroughs. "A consensus has been reached on the technological feasibility," he noted.

In June, the Chinese-developed 3G mobile standard did not perform well in technical trials sponsored by the government. The inability to well support 3G value-added applications and unsatisfactory operations between terminals were described as major bottlenecks.

Reliable sources said China is likely to complete its testing of all 3G-related technologies within the year, which may result in 3G licenses being issued early next year.

Technical breakthrough, however, is not the most important issue.

"The Chinese Government has good reasons to promote the technology now, but for telecoms carriers that is far from convincing," said Yi Mingyu, a senior telecoms analyst with CCID Consulting, a leading Chinese market research firm.

As a new standard previously absent from massive commercial use, TD-SCDMA used on a widespread basis involves potential risks that carriers must carefully consider.

(China Daily September 15, 2005)