China is planning to increase capacity for TD-SCDMA services, the country’s home-grown 3G technology, by reassigning spectrum currently used by the low-cost XiaoLingTong network, reports South China Morning Post. XiaoLingTong is a PHS-based network typically operated in the 1880–1930 MHz spectrum band and offered by previous fixed-line operators China Telecom and China Netcom. Although there are restrictions on the service acting as a mobile network, XiaoLingTong is considered a low-cost alternative for customers who cannot afford GSM or CDMA handsets. According to the report, over 90 million customers were subscribed to the service last year using handsets from the likes of UTStarcom and ZTE.

“We will reassign the spectrum as soon as possible,” Xie Feipo, of China’s Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, told the South China Morning Post. He added that both fixed-line operators had responded positively to the news in light of the recent restructuring in China’s telecoms industry, which has seen the fixed-line players merged with China’s mobile operators. China Mobile is expected to be granted a commercial nationwide TD-SCDMA license once the country’s industry restructuring is complete, whilst China Telecom and China Unicom will likely receive 3G licenses based on CDMA2000 and WCDMA technology, respectively.