MII Official Reveals: China to Submit 4G Standard to ITU Next Year

At the 2007 Key Work Briefing on the Electronic Information Industry, a relevant official from the Ministry of Information Industry (MII) stated that China is preparing to submit a 4G standard to the International Telecommunication Union (ITU) next year.

4G Standard to Be Submitted with Reference to TD Approach

According to Lou Qinjian, Vice Minister of the Ministry of Information Industry, the ITU will begin soliciting 4G standards next year. China is actively preparing and considering submitting a 4G standard based on the evolution path of TD-SCDMA.

Lou Qinjian stated that international standards involve compromise. While the international community may hope to incorporate TD-SCDMA into the 4G standard, China aims to independently propose a 4G standard through the development of TD-SCDMA.

Han Jun, Deputy Director of the Department of Science and Technology under the MII, also explicitly stated that one of the key tasks of the department in 2007 is to complete the preparatory work for the 4G international standard proposal, as well as to initiate the solicitation, selection, and validation process.

Current Status of 4G

The ITU launched 4G-related research in 2000 and has preliminarily identified candidate frequency bands for 4G, with a final decision expected at the World Radiocommunication Conference in the second half of this year. It is anticipated that solicitation of candidate 4G technologies worldwide will begin in 2008. According to the ITU's approach, a technology achieving a data rate of 1 Gbps under static and slow-moving conditions, and 100 Mbps under high-speed mobility, can qualify as a 4G technology.

Previously, at the 2007 Telecommunications Development and Policy Briefing, Lou Qinjian also stated that to promote the development of 3G services, operators would be encouraged to pursue full-service operations at an appropriate time, and the solicitation of 4G standard proposals would be initiated. Lou Qinjian noted that although 3G has not yet been widely deployed, consideration should be given now to post-3G development to gain a greater competitive advantage in the future. He also expressed hope that both the operator and manufacturing sectors would jointly promote the solicitation of 4G standard proposals.