China Mobile said the group plans to expand commercial trial coverage of its TD-SCDMA-based third-generation (3G) mobile telecom services to 38 cities on the mainland, from the current 10, by the end of June next year.

China Mobile  Group, parent of the listed unit, has built TD-SCDMA networks in 8 cities and acquired networks in two other cities from other operators in the first phase of its 3G network development, chairman Wang Jianzhou told a media briefing after the listed unit's interim results.

The parent will start the second phase of its TD-SDMA network development soon, with the aim of expanding the services to 28 more cities, Wang said.

TD-SCDMA is China's home-grown standard for 3G services.

Wang said equipment purchase for the second phase network will likely take place in October this year.

The parent spent 15 bln yuan in the first phase of the 3G network development, he said.

He declined to give an estimate of the costs for the second phase, noting that the equipment purchase process has yet to start.

Source:XFN-ASIA