China telecom operator Datang Mobile will sell its 32 percent stake in T3G, a major chip supplier for the country's homegrown TD-SCDMA technology, according to a China Daily report.
In a filing with the Beijing Equity Exchange, Datang Mobile said it has put its stake in T3G up for sale, with a price tag of about $17.8 million. The report also suggests one of the potential buyers of the stake may be STMicroelectronics.

The notification showed that T3G had revenues of less than $188,000, and recorded a loss of over $17 million in the first half of the year.

Datang's move comes on the heels of the collapse of Commit, another large TD-SCDMA chipmaker, which was forced to close its doors in April when it failed to secure fresh funding.

TD-SCDMA rollout
China's build-up of 3G networks has been one of the longest drawn out sagas in the industry. The government has repeatedly claimed it will have a 3G network up and running on its home-grown standard during this summer's Olympic Games in Beijing, with reports in April alleging that China Mobile and Samsung are due to roll out services.

But with just weeks to go before the games begin, China's Ministry of Information and Industry this week urged China Mobile to accelerate its TD-SCDMA work.

TD-SCDMA is taking on the far more established W-CDMA 3G standard as well as the CDMA standard, both of which are used in most other countries and are to be rolled out in China as well.

Xinhua> reported that authorities had asked the country's dominant mobile player to build out its 3G network "with a sense of urgency and a sense of responsibility."

China Mobile began TD-SCDMA technology trials in April with 60,000 handsets. However, China Daily reports that so far uptake by consumers has been found wanting, with just 1,800 sold during the first 10 days of the public trial.

Source:EE Times