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China Mobile is preparing what may be almost the last gasp of the Chinese 3G boom for vendors, with the fourth and last round of procurement for its TD-SCDMA network. Local analysts are predicting that Phase IV will be more valuable than has been expected, as Mobile tries to stay ahead of its rivals, with their more tried and tested 3G technologies.

The results should be announced in early June, with the local Chinese suppliers plus Ericsson once again expected to dominate. The giant cellco says Phase IV will consist of about 80,000 base stations in 92 cities, plus further capacity in 238 cities that already have 3G.

To date, ZTE has been the star of the TD-SCDMA show. It won 50% of the contracts in Phase I, 30% in Phase II and 34% in Phase III, and was the largest supplier in the first and third rounds. Across the three stages, Huawei has come second in terms of contract wins at Mobile, followed by Datang, which partners with Alcatel-Lucent. Analysts think Huawei may lead Phase IV, as its TD-SCDMA equipment has narrowed the functionality gap with ZTE's in recent months, and it is reported to be cutting the price of its base station to CNY10,000 ($1,500) to be more competitive.

Not that Ericsson will miss out. The Swedish giant had formed a joint venture with Datang focused on TD-LTE, and will hope to get a major share of the contracts when Mobile starts to implement 4G. In the meantime, it expects to maintain its share of Mobile's 3G business at between 5% and 10%. Ericsson's most recent win at the cellco came in March when it got a $1bn deal covering 2G and 3G.

Johan Wibergh, head of networks at Ericsson, told Dow Jones that there was rising interest in TD-LTE from the US, Europe and India. "On TD-LTE, there have been no procurements yet but we are working really hard because we want to be a leader in that also," he said.

China Mobile is also seeking to boost consumer interest in its 3G networks with a wider range of devices. As rival China Telecom announced the BlackBerry Storm amid rumors it would also get a low cost CDMA iPhone, Mobile issued a request to Apple to create an iPhone for TD-SCDMA too. Previous negotiations between the two firms have foundered on various issues, including Mobile's insistence on putting its own software platform, brand and app store in premier position, going against Apple's usual iron control of its platform.

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