China Mobile is planning the launch of its LTE technology trial, announced at the GSMA Mobile World Congress earlier this year. “We hope to start testing very soon,” said the operator’s chairman and chief executive, Wang Jianzhou, according to a Network World report. The support of the world’s largest mobile operator – which is set to deploy homegrown standard TD-SCDMA as its technology for 3G services – is regarded by analysts as a boost for LTE as it attempts to become the technology of choice for next-generation mobile communications. Unstrung notes that China Mobile’s unique decision to test single-channel, unpaired TD-LTE (which is backwards compatible with TD-SCDMA) as well as the more widely recognised FDD (two channels, paired) version of LTE has so far resulted in a lack of chipsets that has held back its plans.

In separate China news, China Unicom has revealed plans to build a nationwide WCDMA-based network and will start issuing tenders for the contracts in November, reports Cellular News. The operator – which has said it will invest up to RMB100 billion (US$14.6 billion) building its 3G network over the next two years – had been expected to start with a piecemeal deployment in the south of the country rather than nationwide. China Unicom aims to introduce 3G services in the third-quarter of 2009, with the network being profitable two years after launch.