China Mobile expects to carry out 5G interoperability tests in 20 cities across China next year
SHANGHAI–China Mobile, the largest mobile operator in the world by subscriber numbers, expects to end this year with 620 million subs in the LTE segment, company Chairman Shang Bing said during a keynote presentation at Mobile World Congress Shanghai.
By the end of this year, 4G technology will account for 72% of China Mobile’s overall subscriber base.
China Mobile has invested about CNY450 billion ($66 billion) over the last three years to rollout its 4G network, he said. The telco’s 4G user base reached 583 million in May, with 4G penetration at 67.5%. “One in four 4G users in the world is a China Mobile user,” Shang said.
The telco has already deployed 1.6 million 4G base stations across China, which represents nearly 30% of total 4G stations deployed globally. China Mobile’s 4G coverage will reach 99% of the Chinese population by the end of 2017. By that time, the telco said it will have 1.77 million 4G base stations across the country.
Shang also said that the telco’s voice-over-LTE (VoLTE) users will increase from the current 86 million to 150 million by the end of December. The operator has launched VoLTE technology in 313 cities across China.
The executive also said that the telco expects its broadband coverage to reach 70% of Chinese households by the end of the year. Fiber optic connections will account for 90% of the network, he added.
China Mobile is currently testing 5G technologies in Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou, Suzhou and Ningbo. Vendors taking part of the telco’s 5G trial are ZTE, Ericsson, Nokia, Huawei and Datang.
China Mobile aims to launch pre-commercial trials for interoperability tests in 20 sites or cities in 2018, Guangyi Liu, CTO of wireless and device department at China Mobile Research Institute, said during a presentation at the 5G Industry Summit, which took place this week during the Mobile World Congress Shanghai.
The trial is expected to expand to over 100 sites or cities in 2019, before the rollout proceeds to the commercial launch stage in 2020, the executive added.
The telco aims to deploy approximately 10,000 5G base stations across China by the end of 2019, according to previous reports.
