World's largest carrier, China Mobile, to test TD-LTE service in March 2013

China Mobile, the world's largest carrier, is expected to begin testing its TD-LTE service in March, 2013. The carrier's proprietary 3G network is the reason why the Apple iPhone is not offered by the carrier, although that is expected to change once the LTE network is up and running. Last year, the mobile operator said that Apple had already agreed to build a version of its smartphone that will run over the TD-LTE pipeline.

The testing of the TD-LTE network will start in Chengdu City, western China, with 1,200 TD-LTE base stations being operational. The trial will increase to 15,000 TD-LTE base stations in 21 districts in Chengdu. That figure includes 10,000 stations that will be upgraded from the current TS-SCDMA technology.

China Mobile's goal is to test 200,000 TD-LTE base stations throughout the country by the end of next year. Initial speeds will reach an average of 40Mbps downloading and 18Mbps uploading.  While China Mobile cannot yet carry the Apple iPhone, China Telecom and China Unicom can and the Apple iPhone 5 is expected to be launched on Friday from the two carriers.

source: Digitimes