The long-awaited 3G (third generation) licenses will be issued as soon as the current telecom restructuring is complete, the government said on Saturday.
Experts estimate the restructuring may take four to six months.
The roll-on of 3G will enable Chinese mobile phone users to enjoy a range of services that support applications such as high-speed Internet access, games and mobile TV.
According to earlier reports, China Mobile will be granted a 3G license based on the country's home-made technology TD-SCDMA, while China Telecom and China Netcom will get theirs based on the WCDMA and CDMA2000 standard respectively.
The 3G licensing will also unleash huge demand for infrastructure, equipment and handsets, presenting opportunities to foreign companies like Ericsson, Motorola and Nokia as well as domestic players such as ZTE and Huawei Technologies.
China is the world's largest mobile phone market with the number of wireless subscribers reaching 583.5 million by the end of last month, according to government figures.
But the country's telecom market has long suffered from a lack of competition under the de facto monopoly of China Mobile, which has been ranking in huge revenues in recent years and taking business away from fixed-line carriers China Telecom and China Netcom as users go mobile.
China Mobile's only rival, China Unicom, has not been a serious challenger as it struggled to operate two often-competing networks.
（英語點津 Helen 編輯）
About the broadcaster:
Brendan joined The China Daily in 2007 as a language polisher in the Language Tips Department, where he writes a regular column for Chinese English Language learners, reads audio news for listeners and anchors the weekly video news in addition to assisting with on location stories. Elsewhere he writes Op’Ed pieces with a China focus that feature in the Daily’s Website opinion section.
He received his B.A. and Post Grad Dip from Curtin University in 1997 and his Masters in Community Development and Management from Charles Darwin University in 2003. He has taught in Japan, England, Australia and most recently China. His articles have featured in the Bangkok Post, The Taipei Times, The Asia News Network and in-flight magazines.
