The Ministry of Industry and Information Technology of China has announced its approval on China Mobile's (CHL) nationwide commercial trial network based on TD-SCDMA technology.

The approval says that the network construction of TD-SCDMA should be accelerated and a specific plan should be made to ensure the smooth progress of the construction. It requires China Mobile to do a careful research and make a follow-up network development plan to promote the industrialization of TD-SCDMA. At the same time, the company should contact and communicate with the relevant equipment suppliers, terminal channel suppliers and users to jointly promote the optimism of the TD-SCDMA industry chain. The approval also provides an overview about the frequency of the TD-SCDMA network, the number field and the development of terminals.

A spokesman from China Mobile confirms that the group has already received the formal approval from the MIIT, but insists it does not mean a 3G license has been issued. The 3G licensing has been continuously delayed in China in the past few years, mainly because the TD-SCDMA technology is not mature. Unlike its foreign rivals WCDMA and CDMA2000, TD-SCDMA has yet to be used in any commercial network in the world.

Wang Jing, secretary general of TD-SCDMA technology forum, says that the approval of TD-SCDMA by the regulatory level is a milestone for the development of this China-grown technology. However, it still needs some operating rules. If a TD-SCDMA license is issued, the coverage of 3G license will be widened.