The three world standards will all be used in China

Finally, the Chinese government has decided the 3G standards: the three world standards will all be used in China. By adding the two foreign standards to the Chinese market, the government has consolidated its "technology neutral" stance and offered an open market for different technologies, said analysts.

Third-generation technology offers better reception, faster access to Internet, and services such as video conferencing.

The Chinese ministry of Information Industry has approved the use of European and American standards for third generation (3G) mobile phones in China recently.

WCDMA (Wideband Code Division Multiple Access) from Europe, CDMA2000 from the U.S. and China's homegrown TD-SCDMA (Time Division-Synchronous Code Division Multiple Access) from China are the three major standards for 3G mobile phones.

The government has promised to provide 3G mobile communications services in time for the 2008 Beijing Olympics.

"The three standards will enable 3G mobile phone manufacturers and operators to reach consensus in defining the demand for products, cooperating in developing relevant apparatus, as well as integrating and applying the technological system," the official website of Chinese Ministry of Information Industry stated on Wednesday.

Foreign telecom firms such as Ericsson and Nokia have been betting big on WCDMA though they have tied up with some local companies in developing TD-SCDMA.

Analysts said the homegrown standard is most likely to get the first license.

All four major Chinese operators --China Netcom, China Telecom, China Mobile and China Unicom-- have said they are investing in 3G.

The number of mobile-phone subscribers in China rose 17 percent from a year earlier to 480.7 million at the end of March. About 66 percent were subscribers of China Mobile Ltd., the world's largest wireless operator by users and a unit of China Mobile Communications.

[via ChinaKnowledge]