3G licenses may help balance market

China has hopes  third-generation wireless permits will help balance a market skewed in favor of mobile operators, said Ministry of Information Industry vice chairman Xi Guohua, even though no timetable for issuing them has been announced. Xi also said that licensing decisions were not linked to the ongoing trial operation of the home-developed TD-SCDMA network, Reuters reported. The market has favored mobile operators, which were growing rapidly, although an expansion into poorer rural markets may dent profits in coming years-over fixed-line firms. The official launch of 3G licenses looks increasingly distant, with Ericsson boss Carl-Henric Svanberg the first top industry executive to all but dismiss the chance of the much-awaited rollout happening this year. But several executives who work closely with the four major telecoms companies still expect licenses in 2007.