Ericsson and Datang Telecom have established a joint research center in Beijing, China, for the development of LTE/TDD technology. Financial terms of the venture were not disclosed. Reports suggest the move to LTE/TDD – the long-term evolution of local 3G Chinese standard TD-SCDMA – may indicate that Datang isn’t waiting for TD-SCDMA’s long-anticipated rollout as a 3G technology in China and is moving ahead with its own plans for future generations of technology.

Datang is a core developer of TD-SCDMA, which is still undergoing tests and has yet to be commercialised. Last month, ABN Amro analyst Wendy Liu wrote in a research note that the government may ‘marginalise’ 3G and emphasise the development of a local next-generation technology.