China Mobile will provide subsidies totaling over RMB 10 billion ($1.46 billion) to domestic and foreign TD-SCDMA handset manufacturers in 2009, domestic media reported on Jan. 13.

Only TD-SCDMA handsets that have secured network access licenses from China's Ministry of Industry and Information Technology (MIIT) will be included in the funding plan, Chinese portal Sohu said on Jan. 13.

China Mobile will classify TD-SCDMA handsets according to three categories based on their quality. The best handsets in the first category will receive the lion's share of subsidies, and will be directly purchased from their manufacturers by China Mobile.

"The funding policy will differ by region as each of China Mobile's local branches have their own plans for TD-SCDMA development," Zhao Yong, TD-SCDMA terminal product manager with ZTE Corp., told Interfax.

Zhao said that ZTE is included in China Mobile's funding plan. The company has so far launched one TD-SCDMA handset and will launch three more in the first half of 2009.

China Mobile also announced on Jan. 8 that it will double the commission it pays to distributors of TD-SCDMA handsets and wireless data cards.

Lu Xiangdong, vice president of China Mobile, said at an internal conference that the government recently provided further support for TD-SCDMA, according to the Sohu report.

"MIIT has recently granted China Mobile an additional frequency range of 1,880 Megahertz (MHz) to 1,920 MHz. Moreover, the Chinese government will further fund the research and development of TD-SCDMA technology and terminal products and may provide tax rebates to TD-SCDMA handset buyers," Lu said.

"Of this new frequency range, China Mobile can only use 1,880 MHz to 1,900 MHz for TD-SCDMA, as the range between 1,900 MHz and 1,920 MHz is still being used by the personal handy-phone system (PHS)," Xiong Yuncai, an industry analyst with Guolian Securities, said.

Source:INTERFAX-CHINA