Nokia is planning to support all three of the proposed 3G standards in China by releasing handsets for each of the networks. It is anticipated that China Mobile will use the Chinese developed 3G standard, TD-SCDMA, while China Telecom will use CDMA2000 and China Unicom will use WCDMA.

Nokia's vice-president of Greater China sales, David Tang told the South China Morning Post that the company aims to retain its number one position in the market.

As China Mobile has a market share of around 70%, supporting the TD-SCDMA format is essential for any handset vendor seeking to retain their market position.

"Nokia supports the development of TD-SCDMA. We will have the handsets in the market when the service becomes active," said Mr Tang in an interview at Nokia's Green Campus headquarters in Beijing.

Although Nokia does not currently have any TD-SCDMA based handsets, the company is a 49% holder in a Chinese joint venture, Potevio with China Putian to develop network infrastructure based on the 3G standard, so it has access to the necessary technical expertise. Potevio was set up in 2005 and has also been the major supplier of equipment to China Mobile's TD-SCDMA trial networks in Tianjin and Qinhuangdao.

Nokia sold just over 70 million mobile phones in China during 2007, giving it a 42% market share.

Source: South China Morning Post