According to Xinhua, the official Chinese news agency, MII vice minister Lou Qinjian told the seventh China 3GSM conference yesterday that the government would keep an eye on technology developments before deciding when to issue licenses.
Three different standards are currently being tested in the country: WCDMA; CDMA 2000; and China’s own TD-SCDMA. Lou said domestic operators could opt for whatever standard they wanted.
At the same time, Xnihua reported, licenses are expected to be offered next year, with services starting eight to 12 months later.
Separately, Xinhua reported than an MII official predicted 70% of Chinese wireless subscribers would be using 3G services by 2010. The advent of 3G would create a CNY 362bn ($43.7bn) market for operators, he said, and a CNY 660.6bn ($79.7bn) market for equipment suppliers.
This article is based on material originally published by ComputerWire
