China Mobile is reportedly considering the launch of commercial TD-LTE services in 2012, with large-scale pilots set to take place next year, in order to meet the growing demand for mobile data connectivity. According to China Daily, Bill Huang (pictured), general manager of the China Mobile Research Institute, said that trials will take place in cities on the Pearl and Yangtze river deltas, although the final decision will be up to the country’s Ministry of Industry and Information Technology. It was reported last month that China Mobile was planning TD-LTE pilots in six cities – Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou, Nanjing, Shenzhen and Xiamen – but was waiting for the regulatory green-light. China Mobile is also continuing the build-out of its TD-SCDMA 3G network, in order to serve data customers, and is looking to WiFi to meet growing demand in the near-term. China Daily also notes that some international operators, such as Poland’s Aero2, also have aggressive TD-LTE plans, expressing an interest in launching services during 2011.

Separately, IDG News Service says that China Mobile is planning the creation of an “innovation alliance” intended to drive development for its Ophone device operating system. The platform is a customised version of Google’s Android, and it has been reported that more than 30 devices based on the OS will reach the market during 2011, from a mix of domestic and international vendors including Asus, Acer, Huawei, Lenovo, LG Electronics, Motorola, Samsung, Sony Ericsson and ZTE. It was not revealed what form the new alliance will take, although it was said to have been a year in the planning.