Telcos upgrade networks and provide new services
By Zhu Shenshen |
May 27, 2011, Friday
|
Print Edition
Print Edition
IN Shanghai's Minhang District, working parents now can watch real-time video of their children in kindergarten via mobile phones under a new service provided by China Mobile that is based on the latest fourth-generation (4G) technology.
Besides Minhang, China Mobile is testing 4G networks in Nanjing Road, Xujiahui, the World Expo zone and along the Bund.
Based on the latest TD-LTE (time division-long term evolution) technology, the new mobile network is 10 to 30 times faster than current 3G network, allowing 4G services like video calls and remote video monitoring.
Rivals China Unicom and China Telecom are also upgrading networks and providing new services in Shanghai to meet surging demand from users and comply with Shanghai's campaign to transform itself into an "intelligent city."
This new wave was the entire buzz at last week's 2011 Shanghai Telecommunications Summit, the city's top annual industry conference.
"In a fully competitive market, every carrier will provide users the best services and will have enough incentives to develop new technology and services," Zhang Feng, a senior official at the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, told the conference.
Though China launched 3G services only in 2009, carriers are already falling behind public demand for even more elaborate services. According to industry insiders, the time has come to upgrade networks again and provide more options, such as 4G, Wi-Fi and faster home broadband connection.
"We see explosive growth in users' bandwidth demand, with the popularity of Google phones, iPhones and iPads," said Liu Xiansong, Shanghai Unicom's deputy general manager for planning. "It's both our opportunity and our challenge."
In Shanghai, China Unicom said average mobile user's data consumption has soared fivefold in the past year to 150 megabits. China Unicom is Apple's sole partner for the iPhone in the domestic market.
China Mobile, the world's biggest mobile carrier, has developed and tested its 4G network in Shanghai and is gearing up to compete against China Unicom with the iPhone.
The telco, which conducted its first 4G call in the city at the beginning of this month, will provide users 4G data cards with a speed of 100 megabits per second, up to 30 times faster than 3G.
Meanwhile, the carrier is in talks with Apple on new iPhones equipped with China Mobile's 4G technology, Wang Jianzhou, the telco's chairman, said last week.
According to a recent research note by Jefferies Co, China Mobile will become one of Apple's new partners soon.
China Unicom, the country's No. 2 mobile carrier, has upgraded its network to HSDPA (high speed downlink package access) in Shanghai. The technology, which is regarded as a transition from 3G to 4G, triples the peak download speed of its network from 7 megabits per second to 21 megabits. It makes Unicom's network the fastest one among the three telcos for now.
China Telecom, meanwhile, is expanding its home-broadband advantage and developing a Wi-Fi network for mobile users, according to Zhang Weihua, general manager of the Shanghai branch of the company.
By 2015, Shanghai Telecom aims to have an upgraded network covering 4.5 million family users, with an average Internet access speed of 50 megabits per second.
In the next three years, Shanghai Telecom will increase Wi-Fi hot spots from 4,500 to 20,000. Most Wi-Fi hot spots will hold a bandwidth of 54 megabits per second, and some in the central business district will reach up to 300 megabits, triple the peak 4G network speed.
"Wi-Fi" was a word much bandied around at last week's conference.
Mobile carriers are developing combined services between 3G networks and Wi-Fi, which has become a trend to ease bandwidth pressure on networks, according to Shanghai Unicom's Liu.
China Unicom aims to establish 5,000 Wi-Fi hot spots in the city within a few years, up from the present 2,000.
China Mobile also said it will be adding more Wi-Fi hot spots in Shanghai, increasing from 6,000 now, according to Sun Jie, vice chief engineer of Shanghai Mobile.
Wi-Fi, which provides faster speeds compared with 3G, will help carriers attract high-end users who expect connections wherever they go, from airports to coffee shops, according to Analysys International, a Beijing-based information technology research firm.
Another reason for the Wi-Fi popularity is its compatibility with tablet computers like iPad.
Apple hasn't released iPad 3G models in China. Only Wi-Fi iPads are sold, which creates more demand for Wi-Fi, analysts said.
Separately, China Mobile announced recently that it will cut roaming fees by up to 51 percent for its high-end GoTone users.
The move, insiders said, reflects stiff competition from China Unicom with its iPhone, especially among higher-end users.
Besides Minhang, China Mobile is testing 4G networks in Nanjing Road, Xujiahui, the World Expo zone and along the Bund.
Based on the latest TD-LTE (time division-long term evolution) technology, the new mobile network is 10 to 30 times faster than current 3G network, allowing 4G services like video calls and remote video monitoring.
Rivals China Unicom and China Telecom are also upgrading networks and providing new services in Shanghai to meet surging demand from users and comply with Shanghai's campaign to transform itself into an "intelligent city."
This new wave was the entire buzz at last week's 2011 Shanghai Telecommunications Summit, the city's top annual industry conference.
"In a fully competitive market, every carrier will provide users the best services and will have enough incentives to develop new technology and services," Zhang Feng, a senior official at the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, told the conference.
Though China launched 3G services only in 2009, carriers are already falling behind public demand for even more elaborate services. According to industry insiders, the time has come to upgrade networks again and provide more options, such as 4G, Wi-Fi and faster home broadband connection.
"We see explosive growth in users' bandwidth demand, with the popularity of Google phones, iPhones and iPads," said Liu Xiansong, Shanghai Unicom's deputy general manager for planning. "It's both our opportunity and our challenge."
In Shanghai, China Unicom said average mobile user's data consumption has soared fivefold in the past year to 150 megabits. China Unicom is Apple's sole partner for the iPhone in the domestic market.
China Mobile, the world's biggest mobile carrier, has developed and tested its 4G network in Shanghai and is gearing up to compete against China Unicom with the iPhone.
The telco, which conducted its first 4G call in the city at the beginning of this month, will provide users 4G data cards with a speed of 100 megabits per second, up to 30 times faster than 3G.
Meanwhile, the carrier is in talks with Apple on new iPhones equipped with China Mobile's 4G technology, Wang Jianzhou, the telco's chairman, said last week.
According to a recent research note by Jefferies Co, China Mobile will become one of Apple's new partners soon.
China Unicom, the country's No. 2 mobile carrier, has upgraded its network to HSDPA (high speed downlink package access) in Shanghai. The technology, which is regarded as a transition from 3G to 4G, triples the peak download speed of its network from 7 megabits per second to 21 megabits. It makes Unicom's network the fastest one among the three telcos for now.
China Telecom, meanwhile, is expanding its home-broadband advantage and developing a Wi-Fi network for mobile users, according to Zhang Weihua, general manager of the Shanghai branch of the company.
By 2015, Shanghai Telecom aims to have an upgraded network covering 4.5 million family users, with an average Internet access speed of 50 megabits per second.
In the next three years, Shanghai Telecom will increase Wi-Fi hot spots from 4,500 to 20,000. Most Wi-Fi hot spots will hold a bandwidth of 54 megabits per second, and some in the central business district will reach up to 300 megabits, triple the peak 4G network speed.
"Wi-Fi" was a word much bandied around at last week's conference.
Mobile carriers are developing combined services between 3G networks and Wi-Fi, which has become a trend to ease bandwidth pressure on networks, according to Shanghai Unicom's Liu.
China Unicom aims to establish 5,000 Wi-Fi hot spots in the city within a few years, up from the present 2,000.
China Mobile also said it will be adding more Wi-Fi hot spots in Shanghai, increasing from 6,000 now, according to Sun Jie, vice chief engineer of Shanghai Mobile.
Wi-Fi, which provides faster speeds compared with 3G, will help carriers attract high-end users who expect connections wherever they go, from airports to coffee shops, according to Analysys International, a Beijing-based information technology research firm.
Another reason for the Wi-Fi popularity is its compatibility with tablet computers like iPad.
Apple hasn't released iPad 3G models in China. Only Wi-Fi iPads are sold, which creates more demand for Wi-Fi, analysts said.
Separately, China Mobile announced recently that it will cut roaming fees by up to 51 percent for its high-end GoTone users.
The move, insiders said, reflects stiff competition from China Unicom with its iPhone, especially among higher-end users.
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