LIVE FROM GSMA MOBILE ASIA CONGRESS 2011: Li Zhengmao (pictured), executive VP of China Mobile, said there has been “substantial progress” in the TD-LTE industry in recent months, as operators look to new technologies to meet the demand for new technology to meet growing demand for mobile data services.

With increasing demand for mobile data bandwidth, the need to speed-up the commercialisation of TD-LTE technology has become “more compelling,” the executive said. “This year, we witnessed the rapid development of global LTE commercialisation, as the scarcity of spectrum resources has become an increasingly prominent issue.”

China Mobile has already conducted a wide-scale pilot of TD-LTE technology, having deployed more than 850 base stations in 6 major cities in the first phase, which was completed by September 2011. This work has involved 7 infrastructure vendors and “many” terminal and chipset suppliers.

During this time, key performance metrics assessed included user data rates, cell throughput, and latency. It verified that “at least 3” infrastructure vendors can support more than 200 users simultaneously. The China Mobile executive said during this period, it saw network performance indicators “in line with our expectations.”

The operator is now moving onto the second phase of its pilot, which is scheduled to be completed by the end of July 2012. This includes the construction of a “demonstration and experience” network in Beijing, which will be used to demonstrate the capabilities of TD-LTE to the operator’s customers and partners.

In addition, it is this week scheduled to sign an agreement for the Smart Shenzhen broadband wireless city project, which will see a TD-LTE network used to pilot services including medical, education, government and intelligent traffic applications.

China Mobile has also begun the bulk procurement of supporting TD-LTE devices, initially focused on data cards and hotspots.