China Unicom to Focus on FDD-LTE Network
Sohu IT, 12/13/13
China Unicom (NYSE: CHU; 0762.HK; 600050.SH) president and executive director Lu Yimin recently revealed that, although the company has received a TD-LTE license, China Unicom remains focused on FDD-LTE, because the supply chain for FDD-LTE is more mature. Now that the company has obtained a TD-LTE license, China Unicom will quickly build TD-LTE base stations in the most data intensive areas. If China Unicom obtains an FDD-LTE license soon, the company will further deploy its 4G network, offering network speeds of 120Mbps to 150Mbps. Lu added that the upgrade from 3G to 4G is very smooth, so the company will not need to increase capex too much.
Lu has revealed that China Unicom will not offer unlimited data packages in the 4G era, but the cost of data will be less than during the 3G era.
Editor's Note: China Unicom's trial FDD-LTE network in Shenzhen achieved downlink speeds of 140.46 Mbps and uplink speeds of 46.55 Mbps. The trial used Chinese telecom equipment and terminal manufacturer Huawei's FDD-LTE data cards. According to an insider at China Unicom, the company plans to formally launch its 4G base station equipment tender near the beginning of 2014, with large-scale 4G network construction very likely starting after the third quarter of 2014.
Keywords: Lu Yimin China Unicom capex wireless network construction 4G base station FDD-LTE TD-LTE 0762.HK 600050.SH CHU mobile network equipment
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