China announced Wednesday that massive network building for third-generation mobile communications (3G) based on TD-SCDMA technology is feasible.

The announcement indicates that the technological barrier to promoting the TD-SCDMA standard in China's 3G era is basically removed, reported China Daily Thursday.

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.

China announced its field trial results of TD-SCDMA Wednesday. 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 yuan (123.3 million US dollars) in the research and development 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 Wednesday.

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.

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.

Source: Xinhua