The world’s largest wireless carrier has awarded more than $3 billion in 4G contracts, with a slice of the business going to non-Chinese firms. China Mobile has tapped Ericsson, Nokia Solutions and Networks and Alcatel-Lucent, along with Chinese equipment vendors Huawei and ZTE, according to Reuters. Huawei and ZTE have each earned roughly 25% of the contracts awarded so far, while Ericsson, NSN and Alcatel-Lucent got about 10% each. NSN is said to have been the low bidder on the contracts; nonetheless the vendor does not appear to have come out ahead of its rivals.
In all, China Mobile has said it plans to spend roughly $7 billion on its TD-LTE deployment, which will include more than 200,000 base stations. Initial plans called for the entire deployment this year, but now it looks as if at least part of the network upgrade may be pushed into 2014.
China Mobile said recently that its 2013 capital expenditures to date have totaled roughly $9.3 billion. The company budgeted more than three-times that amount for this year, so analysts expect significant expenditures during the remainder of 2013 as well as the first part of next year.
With more than 700 million subscribers, China Mobile is poised to have a huge impact on the mobile landscape as it turns on LTE. Device makers have a tremendous opportunity, and Apple is expected to lead the way with a new iPhone that will be compatible with China Mobile’s TD-LTE network. China Mobile is the only Chinese carrier that does not carry the iPhone. But it’s possible that by the time the iPhone makes it to China Mobile, many of the carrier’s subscribers will just as interested in Android alternatives if they can get them. This summer researchers from Avanti found that Chinese interest in the Samsung Galaxy S4 is very high, and that half the surveyed iPhone users in China are considering a switch to the S4.
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