From AP:
China’s main mobile phone company said Friday it will launch trial service of the homegrown Chinese next-generation standard next week, possibly moving the huge market closer to the long-anticipated rollout of new services.
Companies expect a multibillion-dollar wave of spending on equipment once China awards licenses for third-generation, or 3G, service. But Beijing has delayed a decision while it tries to develop its own system to compete with global standards.
China Mobile Communications Corp. said in a statement it will test the standard, known as TD-SCDMA, by issuing 20,000 phones and 5,000 data cards on Tuesday in Beijing and seven other cities.
Read also China to begin trial 3G mobile phone service in April by Xinhua, and 3G services on trial run in eight cities from China Daily.