As the 3G (third generation) mobile communication technology matures, China, Japan and the Republic of Korea (ROK) will host a "Beyond 3G" international conference on October 18 in Shanghai.

Officials, research staff and companies in the industry will come from the three nations to discuss future mobile communication technology, including technology standards, frequency spectrum and market demand.

"The next five years will be a crucial period for the formation of a Beyond 3G standard and the technology is expected to be commercialized in 2015," said Cao Shumin, vice-president of the Telecom Research Academy under the Ministry of Information Industry.

Headed by the International Telecom Union, the concerned countries have reached an agreement on the future development of "Beyond 3G". Its frequency spectrum will be set at the world wireless conference, to be held in 2007.

China, which began to study beyond 3G technology in 2001, has made breakthroughs in key areas.

According to the present research, new technologies could realize a transmission speed 5-10 times faster than under the 3G technology, said You Xiaohu, director of National Mobile Communication Research Laboratory.

At the end of this year or early next year, he noted, China will set up a test bed for Beyond 3G in Shanghai and will offer wireless transmission with a speed between 100 Mbps and 1G by 2010.

When talking of the relationship between Beyond 3G and 3G, Cao said the research and implementation of B3G will not affect 3G's application.

3G is maturing in China and will play a dominant role in the mobile communication market for a long time, Cao said.

She said that beyond 3G has just been proposed and remains at the stage of research.

A forum organization on future mobile communication will be set up in October in China. "The forum will do away with misunderstanding between Beyond 3G and 3G while creating a good environment for joint research from concerned parties," Cao said.

The International Conference on Beyond 3G, launched in 2002, has been held for three years, respectively in Beijing, Seoul and Tokyo.

(Xinhua News Agency September 30, 2005)