According to the International Telecommunications Union (ITU) fourth-generation (4G) telephony timetable, spectrum planning will be complete by 2007, and global standardization by 2010.  China has made significant progress in its TD-SDCMA network and technology, meeting 3G standards, and the government is paying increased attention to 4G's latest progress, planning constructive involvement with communications technology research, development and standardization.  But with data-rich 3G telephony--which allows high-speed transmission of data and images--not yet available in mainland China, is the country ready to leap into 4G?