China Mobile and Taiwan’s Far EasTone have signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) to jointly build a test network based on TD-LTE technology in Taiwan. According to The Taipei Times, the agreement is the latest effort by the two operators to forge closer ties after the Taiwanese government last year blocked Far EasTone’s plan to sell a 12% stake to the Chinese company.
The two firms said that the partnership will “help local companies that are developing devices supporting TD-LTE technology to save costs and testing time.”
China Mobile, which is the world’s largest mobile operator in terms of number of subscribers, has long seen Taiwan as a test-bed for TD-LTE, which is chosen to succeed its homegrown TD-SCDMA-based 3G network in China.
The Taipei Times also noted that China Mobile has also teamed up with another local 3G mobile operator (Vibo Telecom) last year to operate a similar TD-LTE lab in Taipei.
[Via: MobileBusinessBriefing]