China Mobile's Dead End on the 3G Highway

(Beijing) — A lot of fanfare accompanied the 2009 rollout of China's first, homegrown standard for a 3G wireless communications network, which many telecom experts and officials touted as a new platform for the world.

Government regulators backed the TD-SCDMA standard by granting China Mobile a license for its use, setting the stage for a 3G network building project that, according to Nomura Securities, is likely to exceed 188 billion yuan by the end of this year. The telecom is also spending money on compatible mobile device promotions and marketing, thus raising its total TD-SCDMA investment to an estimated 200 billion yuan.