China Mobile rings the changes with 4G technology

GUANGZHOU - China Mobile Communications Corp, the parent of the world's largest telecom carrier by subscribers, said it hopes the homegrown 4G TD-LTE technology will account for half of the global LTE market in the future, said a top company executive on Friday.

The globalization of TD-LTE technology has become a reality, said Xi Guohua, Party secretary and vice-chairman of China Mobile, at an industry forum in Guangzhou on Friday.

TD-LTE commercial networks are currently operating in Saudi Arabia and Japan and more than 10 operators have plans to deploy the system.

China Mobile said that 33 TD-LTE trial networks had been established globally by October and the number will rise to more than 40 next year.

"TD-LTE has already become the world's mainstream 4G LTE technology, because of its relatively low spectrum cost and high efficiency," Xi said.

More operators will adopt TD-LTE networks in the future, he added.

For China Mobile, which has seen its mobile-data traffic soar by 150 percent year-on-year in recent years, the prospect of launching a TD-LTE network is very exciting, said Xi.

He also revealed that China Mobile plans to add between 10,000 and 20,000 new TD-LTE base stations in China in the first half of 2012.

On Tuesday, the company said that it has already launched the second phase of its TD-LTE network large-scale trial in six Chinese cities, and hopes to complete the tests by June next year.

During the first large-scale trial, which began in January and was completed at the end of September, China Mobile invested about 600 million yuan ($94 million) and, with partners, built 850 base stations in six major Chinese cities, including Shanghai, Shenzhen and Guangzhou.

"The result was successful and in line with our expectations," said Li Zhengmao, an executive vice-president with China Mobile.

Li said the company will make efforts to promote the convergence of the different systems, known as LTE TDD and FDD, in the next phase, which will allow users to move easily between the two main 4G networks.