3G services are not very popular with China Mobile subscribers

Fewer than 3 percent of new China Mobile subscribers have signed up for the operator's 3G service based on a locally developed mobile technology called TD-SCDMA, while the rest are choosing 2G services.

As soon as the Chinese government issued licenses to operators for 3Gservices, China Mobile, the largest telecommunications operator, began offering 3G services based on TD-SCDMA and by the end of May it had 746,000 subscribers for its 3G network.

Despite the slack demand for China Mobile's 3G services, overall demand for mobile services remained strong. During the first five months of 2009, the number of China Mobile subscribers increased from 457.3 million to 488.1 million -- an increase of 6.7 percent, or 30.8 million subscribers. TD-SCDMA subscribers represented 2.4 percent of the total increase in subscribers during that period.

China Mobile, the only operator that uses TD-SCDMA for its 3G network, is counting on dual-mode handsets that support both TD-SCDMA and older GSM networks to help goad into more demand for its TD-SCDMA services. Dual-mode handsets will allow users to upgrade to 3G services without requiring them to change their mobile telephone numbers.

Additionally, the company will sell laptops with TD-SCDMA data cards and home Internet access gateways to attract more 3G subscribers.