Information Technology Minister Wang Xudong said at a national working conference that China should continue the ongoing trials on the application of its homegrown TD-SCDMA technology to ensure a steady start of the 3G services in 2007.
Wang's latest remarks, coming weeks after he was quoted by the China Daily as saying 3G licensing will happen "very soon," appear to signal the ministry's sense of urgency on the matter. But his comments that the conditions exist in China for the development of 3G services repeat what some Ministry of Information Industry officials have already said.
Xinhua reported Wang as saying China should improve competition in the telecommunications market by allowing fixed-line operators, who face rising competition from mobile carriers, to offer mobile-phone services when the government introduces 3G.
Allowing fixed-line carriers to offer mobile-phone services "appears to be very urgent," said Wang, according to the report, which didn't cite a timeframe for the licensing.
The country's two key fixed-line operators, China Telecom and China Netcom Group, said earlier this month they expect 3G licensing to happen soon, with China Netcom Chief Executive Zuo Xunsheng saying: "I think it (3G licensing) is going to happen by the end of this year or in the first quarter next year."
Wang said the trials on locally developed 3G technology, Time Division Synchronous Code Division Multiple Access, are proceeding smoothly and pave the way for large-scale commercial use of TD-SCDMA. He added that TD-SCDMA has great potential in China's 3G market, according to Xinhua.
