The industry body that represents the vendor community for Chinese homegrown 3G platform TD-SCDMA has revealed global ambitions for the technology, According to a presentation obtained by CommsDay, the TDIA—TD-SCDMA Industry Alliance—says the technology is ripe for deployment outside China because it allows global 3G operators to take advantage of TDD spectrum which is otherwise lying fallow.

TDIA secretary general Yang Hua said that while the key goal for the technology is to be successful in China, there are 117 3G licenses worldwide that have reserved TDD spectrum suitable for TD-SCDMA.

In the presentation, Yang said that Southeast Asia is suitable for TD development, while the spectrum in North America is separated, which make it unsuitable for WCDMA or CDMA2000 networks. At the same time, operators in Europe are now considering return-on-investment and frequency resources and looking to TDD as a serious alternative

TD-SCDMA OUTSIDE CHINA: According to Yang’s slides, TD-SCDMA is already deployed outside China, with network coverage over Hong Kong’s Cyberport area, and a commercial TD service in Ghana. Trial networks are also up in South Korea with SKT, in Italy with MY WIVE network, and in Canada with TRLab.

One of the key advantages of the technology is that it does not required paired spectrum like today’s 3G networks, hence offers increased flexibility for both regulators and operators, Yang said, adding that the technology also offers higher frequency utilization, as well as lower cell breathing. TDD spectrum is also available worldwide, enabling international roaming, he said.

ZTE’S TD-SCDMA UPGRADE: Meanwhile, ZTE unveiled a new proprietary technology at the meeting that it claims offers better cell throughput at lower cost than conventional enhancements such as 64QAM and MIMO (multi-input, multi-output) upgrades.

The ZTE trademarked technology, called HSPA MX, offers between 60%-100% increases in cell throughput by combining the company’s MX algorithm and SDMA (space division multiple access) to increase the reuse of frequencies, time slots and code channels, the company said.

“The increase in cell throughput enables users to gain more bandwidth, greatly improves service experience but at very low total cost of ownership, thus enhancing the competitiveness of operators,” said Isaac Liang, international director for ZTE’s TD-SCDMA product line.

By increasing the available throughput of cells, the MX technology also lowers the CAPEX per bit of TD-SCDMA networks by 35.5%, he added, further enhancing operators’ business models. “The reduction of CAPEX per bit enables operators to provide better tariff to stimulate consumption and attract more subscribers,” he said.

According to Liang, there is no need to add any hardware for adopting the MX technology, which can be implemented with a software upgrade. Additionally, the MX technology does not change altered the TD air interface, so there’s no need for new terminals, or to adjust the network planning.

Tony Chan