Chunghwa Telecom and Far EasTone – Taiwan’s largest and third-largest mobile operators, respectively – are reported to be considering adopting China’s homegrown 3G standard, TD-SCDMA. Reuters claims that both operators are in talks with Taiwan’s Industrial Technology Research Institute (ITRI), which last week signed a deal with China’s Datang Telecom to set up a trial TD-SCDMA network on the island. Smaller operator VIBO Telecom and WiMAX operator Tatung Telecom are also in talks with ITRI, notes Reuters. None of the operators have publicly commented on the report. A commercial TD-SCDMA deployment from Chunghwa and Far EasTone in particular would be surprising in light of the fact both operators have established successful domestic 3G networks based on WCDMA/HSPA technology.

Any Taiwanese deployment of TD-SCDMA technology would be a huge fillip for the Chinese 3G standard, which has experienced very little traction outside of its home market. The Chinese government is keen to see TD-SCDMA technology grow both at home and abroad. China Mobile’s recent bid to buy a minority (12 percent) stake in Far EasTone for TWD17,773.6 million (US$527 million) – currently stalled due to the Taiwanese government’s reluctance to lift its ban on Chinese investment in its telecom sector – is regarded by some as a move by the world’s largest operator to hone its next-generation network strategy in a considerably more technologically advanced mobile market. The Financial Times previously reported that China Mobile could use Taiwan as a test bed for TD-SCDMA and, eventually, TD-LTE. Reuters notes today that the reported Taiwanese operator interest in TD-SCDMA is another sign of “warming ties” between the two countries.