China’s telecoms minister has announced that the country is likely to issue 4G licences this year.
Information technology minister Miao Wei was quoted in the China Securities Journal as saying that he expected the new licences to be given out before…
China’s telecoms minister has announced that the country is likely to issue 4G licences this year.
Information technology minister Miao Wei was quoted in the China Securities Journal as saying that he expected the new licences to be given out before the end of 2013, a closer deadline than the 2014 timeframe previously set.
The Chinese telecoms sector is currently monopolised by three state-owned operators – China Telecom, China Unicom and China Mobile. While there has been no confirmation so far as to whether 4G licences will be allocated to new or existing operators, there have been signs this year that China is now looking to liberalise its telecoms sector.
As TelecomFinance reported in January, the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology (MIIT) has proposed issuing MVNO licences to private companies, a move which would open up the country’s mobile sector for the first time.
Internet services in China have always been open to domestic private investors and substantial investments have been made in recent years, so it has been suggested that the government may wish for a similar situation with mobile.
China started testing its 4G network in early 2011. The trials, which were expected to last 18 months, have been led by the country’s largest mobile operator, China Mobile, but also include a range of Chinese and international vendors, including Alcatel-Lucent, Datang Telecom, Huawei, Nokia Siemens Networks (NSN) and ZTE.
