MIIT: 5G Models Comprise 54% of China's Q1 2020 Network Access License Applications
CAICT, 4/27/20
In Q1 2020, as China's mobile phone market continued to transition from 4G to 5G, 5G handset models comprised almost 54% of total new handset product network access license applications submitted during the quarter, according to a newly issued report from the China Academy of Information and Communications Technology (CAICT)'s CTTL Terminal Labs under the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology (MIIT).
The report also provided the following breakdowns of the new handset models that applied to the MIIT for network access licenses during Q1 2020:
Breakdown by Generation
During the quarter, a total of 106 new handset models applied to the MIIT for network access licenses, including 57 (53.77% of the total) 5G models, 37 (34.91%) 4G models, and 12 (11.32%) 2G models. The 53.77% figure for 5G models represents a 14.7 percentage point increase compared to Q4 2019, while the 34.91% figure for 4G models represents decreases of 49.5 and 8.1 percentage points compared to Q1 2019 and Q4 2019, respectively.
Breakdown by Radio Frequency Supported
5G Handsets
Of the 57 new 5G handset models that applied for network access licenses during the quarter, all 57 support Band 41 and Band 78, and 51 (89.5%) support Band 79.
4G Handsets
Of the 37 new 4G handset models that applied for network access licenses during the quarter, all 37 support Band 41, 32 (86.5%) support Band 1, and 35 (94.6%) support Band 3.
4G Model Voice Solution Support
Of the 37 new 4G handset models that applied for network access licenses during Q1 2020, 36, or 97.3%, support VoLTE, representing an increase of 0.7 percentage points YoY and a drop of 2.7 percentage points QoQ.
LTE Network Capability Support by User Equipment Category
Of the 37 new 4G handset models that applied for network access licenses during the quarter, 7 support User Equipment Category 1 capabilities, 17 support UE Category 4 capabilities, a combined 10 support UE Category 6, 7, or 9 capabilities, and a combined 3 support UE Category 10, 11, or 12 capabilities.
Positioning Technology Support
Of the 106 new handset models that applied for network access licenses during the quarter, 87 support positioning technology, including 86 4G and 5G models combined, and one 2G model. Of the 5G and 4G models among these, 57 and 17, respectively, support China's self-developed BeiDou Navigation Satellite System.
Operating System
Of the new 4G and 5G handset models that applied for network access licenses during the quarter, 92.5% were smartphones, and of the smartphones, 94.2% run the Android operating system. Of those running Android, 78.0% run Android 10, which was released on September 3, 2019.
Keywords: handset wireless 4G MIIT 5G Beidou operating system VoLTE CAICT Q1 2020 network access permit handset model national statistics