China says to award 3G licenses by early 2009

China will award third-generation mobile phone licences this month or at the start of 2009, Li Yizhong, Minister of Industry and Information Technology, said on Friday.

China Mobile will get a license for TD-SCDMA, the homegrown 3G standard, Li said. China Unicom will operate a WCDMA system, while China Telecom will get a license for CDMA 2000 technology.

Beijing has worked hard to develop its homegrown TD-SCDMA 3G standard to promote its own industries and avoid hefty royalties demanded by companies behind the world's most widely accepted 3G standards, WCDMA and CDMA 2000.