Datang Telecom announced Tuesday that it  has  completed  upgrading  China  Mobile's TD-SCDMA networks in Shanghai  and  Guangzhou  to utilize HSDPA (High Speed Downlink Packages Access).

Datang Mobile  executed  the upgrades as part of China Mobile's TD-SCDMA network  upgrade  project.  The  company  said  testing  of the upgraded networks went well, and that high quality voice communication can now be ensured in the two cities' metros and public areas.

China Mobile  had  planned  to  have  all  TD-SCDMA networks upgraded in Beijing,  Shanghai,  Tianjin, Qinhuangdao, Shenyang, Guangzhou, Shenzhen and Xiamen  by  the  end of May. However, only upgrade work by Putian on portions  of  the  networks  in Tianjin and Qinhuangdao was completed on schedule.

According  to a report by Sina.com, Putian completed its upgrade work in Tianjin and Qinhuangdao by May 17. The upgraded networks are expected to support data transmission speeds of up to 2.8 Megabits per second.

China Mobile's  TD-SCDMA network upgrade project is being carried out by several  companies,  with  Datang  Mobile  responsible  for Shanghai and Guangzhou;  ZTE  and Putian responsible for Tianjin and Qinhuangdao; ZTE and TD-Tech   responsible   for  Shenyang;  ZTE,  TD-Tech  and  Ericsson responsible for Xiamen; and ZTE responsible for Beijing.

"By value,  ZTE  won  46.78  percentage  of the overall upgrade project. Datang Mobile won 36.68 percent. Putian won about 2 percent," Zhang Yan, a Datang Mobile official, said.

Details  regarding  the  progress  of upgrade work in Beijing, Shenyang, Shenzhen and Xiamen have not been released. HSDPA is  a  3.5G technology for both WCDMA and TD-SCDMA. When upgraded, TD-SCDMA networks are referred to as TD-HSDPA.

It is widely  believed that the upgrade will help to boost confidence in TD-SCDMA  among  telecom equipment manufacturers and spur market growth. Meanwhile,   China   Mobile   has   started   putting  TD-SCDMA  service advertisements on TV to attract more users.

Source:INTERFAX-CHINA