Taiwan and China will strengthen their cooperation on the development of 4G and other telecom technologies.
The two sides are expected to sign MoUs to jointly develop TD-LTE standards and set up 4G research and test platforms on the two sides of the Taiwan Strait when officials and industry leaders of the two sides hold meetings in Beijing today, according to China Times.
Shen Rong-jin, director-general of the Industrial Development Bureau under Taiwan's Ministry of Economic Affairs, will lead over 400 delegates - including executives from Chunghwa Telecom, Taiwan Mobile, Far EasTone, MediaTek, Taiwan Vibo Telecom and Kinpo Group - to participate in a meeting in Beijing on September 4 to promote closer cooperation between the two sides.
Nearly 300 corporate delegates from mainland China, including executives from China Mobile, China Unicom, China Telecom, Huawei, Datang, ZTE, will take part in the meetings.
China and Taiwan have been holding talks to promote closer cooperation between the sides on telecom matters since 2009. This is the first time 4G has been included the agenda, a move which industry watchers expect will help Chinese and Taiwanese vendors to take a bigger share in the booming 4G market.
In addition to TD-LTE, the two sides will also collaborate on M2M (internet of things), mobile internet and app stores.
Statics from Taiwan’s Ministry of Economic Affairs showed that procurement from mainland telecoms operators and equipment manufacturers increased by 30-40% on year to NT$150 billion ($5 billion) last year, and is expected to reach NT$$200 billion in 2012.