After many delays and rumors, state-run news agency Xinhua has announced China Mobile (NYSE:CHL; HKG:0941) users on the mainland will be able to connect to 4G LTE on December 18. The country’s other two major telcos, China Unicom (NYSE:CHU; HKG:0762) and China Telecom (NYSE:CHA; HKG:0728), are expected to follow soon after.
The high-speed network upgrade will first roll out in Beijing, Guangzhou, and Chongqing. Shanghai will have to wait as it is still building its city-wide 4G network, according to the report.
The announcement could also be a green light to start manufacturing and selling TD-LTE versions of the latest iPhone models. TD-LTE is the 4G standard used by China Mobile, as opposed to the more internationalized FDD-LTE standard. The 4G rollout is believed to be the final hurdle before Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) and China mobile ink a deal, as TD-LTE iPhones have already been certified by the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology.
China Mobile is the most popular carrier in China, serving 760 million of 1.22 billion mobile subscribers. About one-third are connected to 3G; China Mobile serves 176 million of the country’s 421 million 3G users (41.8 percent).
A 4G rollout has been teased since September, and 4G-compatible phones have been available for some time, but the MIIT held back on issuing the licenses despite much of the infrastructure already being installed and tested. Data plan prices for China Mobile’s 4G network were also released in late September, showing how eager the telco was to get the ball rolling. The MIIT announced the rollout would happen “before the end of the year,” and it seems it’s held out until the last minute.
(Source: Xinhua)
(Editing by Terence Lee)
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