On April 15, the demonstration network of TD-LTE broadband mobile communication constructed by China Mobile was officially launched at Shanghai World Expo area, enabling seventy million visitors from home and abroad be the first to witness the wonder created by the world leading broadband wireless mobile communication technology at Expo.
In the demo site, the audience marveled that 24-Way HD TV programs can be transmitted by TD-LTE to a LCD TV set. "TD-LTE trial network at the Expo can reach the capacity of down 100Mbps and up 50Mbps." Commentator said. At the end of 2007, the TD-LTE standard, proposed by China Mobile and Datang Group and other Chinese enterprises, and submitted by these enterprises and over twenty international companies, has been identified as the only TDD standard (one of the two 4G standards identified by International Telecommunication Union). After three years of effort, TD-LTE embraces a broad space for development.
The world marveled at China's speed
The R&D of TD-LTE gathered the operators, Telecom Research Institute, Datang, Huawei, ZTE and other domestic enterprises and research institutes, which impelling it becoming an international standard. It only cost three years for TD-LTE standards to be formed, to gather a group of partners in the industry chain, and to establish scale demonstration network. Normally, the proposal of new technology standards, including submission, the establishment of a certain scale demonstration network and the launch of a series of innovative applications, need at least five years to get "mature".
It can be said that the rapid development of TD-LTE could be attributed to the support of government, the impetus of operators, and the united participation of the manufacturers. Besides, the Expo becomes the magical catalyst to significantly reduce the period for TD-LTE Standard to get "mature".
Recalling the construction process of TD-LTE demonstration network, Wan Guoguang, deputy general manager of China Mobile Shanghai Company who is responsible for the projects operation said, "If there is no such a golden opportunity as Expo, the launch of TD-LTE trial network will be delayed at least two years. Expo provides a great opportunity for TD-LTE to win the industry high ground and to strategically surpass others".
The fact that China Mobile, the world's largest mobile communications operator, led to construct the world's first TD-LTE trial network which makes a transition from 3G to 4G, and the fact that TD-LTE was first showed at World Expo that could be regarded as the world's largest demonstration stage for new technology, indicated that the construction of TD-LTE trial network is in accord with national macro-development strategies, and is the development direction of China's next generation of mobile communication network! All these have greatly boosted the partners' confidence in TD-LTE. The establishment of TD-LTE industrial chain covers all aspects including equipment, terminals and chip R&D, testing and operating and beginning to take shape in very short time is the key step for TD ?CLTE as a technical standard with core self-owned intellectual property to jump from laboratory to commercial market.
Chinese standards leap toward the world
With the global mobile communication market rapidly shifting to broadband technology, spectrum resources are becoming more and more scarce. The advantage in spectrum utilization enables TD-LTE a large possibility to be widely used around the world. As the evolved TD-SCDMA, TD-LTE's going forward the international market will lead the application of China's self-owned technological innovation all over the world, further enhance China's international competitiveness in telecommunications industry, and create a rare historical opportunity for China to transform from a big power to a great power in the field of telecommunication.
At the meeting held by International Telecommunication Union at the end of 2009, different countries and organizations proposed six 4G candidates. Finally, the LTE-Advanced standard containing TD-LTE-Advanced technologies with core self-owned intellectual property right, and 802.16m standard initiated by the European and American developed countries, were selected as international standards candidates for 4G technology. TD-LTE is initiated by Chinese enterprises and received support from international key vendors, and this is the first time Chinese mobile communication industry can stand on the same starting line with peers in developed countries. Cao Shumin, the vice president of Telecommunication Research Institute under the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology (MIIT), believes that the success of TD-LTE demonstration at the Expo and the future development will lead the voice of China's mobile communication industry in the future global 4G standards, determining if China can seize the strategic high ground in the competition of the global information innovation.
At present, China has defined TD-LTE as one of the top priorities of "Eleventh Five-Year" in the key program of "Next-generation of Broadband Mobile Communication Network." China will systematically cast heavy investment to promote industrial development from various sectors of the industry chain and from all aspects of industrialization. Currently, TD-LTE has become a global terminal-to-terminal industrial chain, which is led by Chinese enterprises with broad international participation. The world's leading enterprises of systems, chips, terminals or instrument have participated in the R&D of TD-LTE, which is attracting much attention from international operators.
After the World Expo, China Mobile will select a number of cities in China to conduct TD-LTE scale trial, in order to promote the technologies and products and form the commercial value. At the same time, China Mobile will further expand the overseas market to build numerous overseas TD-LTE trial networks, and strive to form global commercial value. Moreover, on this basis, China Mobile also plans to cooperate with international operators to jointly promote the terminal-to-terminal products, and to forge a sound and strong global industrial chain of TD-LTE.
Currently, overseas operators from dozen countries and regions in Europe, America and Asia have began their TD-LTE cooperation with China, and many of them plan to start trial network construction in 2010 and even to deploy commercial networks. The opportunity in international TD-LTE market has come, and the mobile communication standard, as one of China's independent innovations, is taking a big stride towards the world.