China Telecom expects its FDD-LTE technology to cover 95% of China’s population by year end
Chinese mobile telephony operator China Telecom aims to provide LTE coverage to 95% of the country’s population by the end of the year, according to local press reports. To achieve that goal the operator is deploying what it said is the world’s largest FDD-LTE network, with 460,000 base stations.
China Telecom is the country’s third-largest mobile company, with approximately 192 million subscribers. The operator obtained its nationwide FDD-LTE license in February, having previously launched “4G” services through a hybrid TDD/FDD network.
According to the latest available figures from GSMA Intelligence, China Telecom currently has nearly 26 million 4G subscribers. Rival operators China Mobile and China Unicom have 188 million 4G subscribers and 23 million 4G subscribers, respectively.
China Telecom is using the 1.8 GHz, 2.1 GHz and 800 MHz bands, either separately or for dual-band or tri-band carrier aggregation. The operator also is using spectrum in the 850 MHz band for the provision of wider LTE coverage in rural areas of China and also expects to obtain spectrum in the 700 MHz band in the future. The company also expects to launch voice-over-LTE and voice-over-WiFi technologies, according to the reports.
China’s three mobile operators are sponsored by the state, and last year formed China Tower, a state-backed joint venture designed to take ownership of tower assets and assume responsibility for maintenance and operations. Local regulators are working toward an Aug. 15 goal of transferring some 1 million cell towers to China Tower.
China to invest almost $71B in 2015 to improve broadband infrastructure
The Chinese government announced an investment of $70.98 billion this year to improve the nation’s Internet infrastructure as part of plans to lower broadband tariffs and improve access speeds, according to a report published by local paper China Daily.
Chinese authorities ordered China Mobile, China Telecom and China Unicom to lower their average prices for fixed and mobile broadband by 30% by the end of 2015.
