NOKIA Corp plans to ship mobile phones based on China's 3G standard in the first half of next year, the company said yesterday.

It was the first time that the world's No. 1 phone maker gave out the detailed schedule for TD-SCDMA (time division-synchronous code division multiple access) terminal.

"We believe that the market need for TD-SCDMA terminals is in the first half of 2008 and Nokia is planning to have a product offering in that time frame," Nokia said in a statement delivered to Shanghai Daily yesterday.

But Nokia declined to talk about the details, such as the models and price range.

China does not currently permit operators to offer 3G services.

Equipment and handset makers have been waiting for Chinese regulators to issue 3G licenses. China Mobile, the country's No. 1 mobile carrier, is constructing TD-SCDMA networks in several cities for the Beijing Olympic Games in 2008.

"It is natural for Nokia as it won't miss the opportunity for China Mobile's potential TD-SCDMA orders in the world's biggest mobile phone market," said Sandy Shen, a Gartner's analyst based in Shanghai.

China Mobile is expected to invest at least two to four billion yuan (US$519 million) to procure home-grown 3G phones around October.

About 18 phone makers now have TD-SCDMA phone products, including ZTE Corp, Datang Mobile, Samsung, LG, Haier, Lenovo Mobile, TCL and Huawei Technologies, according to Chen Haofei, the secretary general of the TD-SCDMA Forum.