At yesterday\'s Symposium on IPv6 Promotion in Beijing, Duan Xiaodong, deputy director of the China Mobile (NYSE: CHL; 0941.HK) Research Institute\'s Department of Network Technology, said that China Mobile\'s TD-LTE 4G standard would support a smooth transition to IPv6, adding that the operator would begin testing TD-LTE data cards supporting IPv6 in H2 of this year.

According to Duan, China Mobile has a three-stage plan for IPv6: in the first stage (2011-2013), it will ensure industry chain support for IPv6 and set up test networks on a large scale. In the second stage (2014-2015), China Mobile will launch commercial trials of IPv6. In the third ("application") stage (2016-2020), it will begin to develop its user base on a large scale and promote services and applications that make use of IPv6\'s capabilities.

Duan revealed that China Mobile has developed its first device prototype featuring both TD-LTE and IPv6 connectivity.