The report comes via an insider source on Chinese telecom news site cww.net.cn, who stated the mobile giant is hoping to have approval for the LTE-TD network by May 17, 2013, with public access set for August.
The operator has previously said that it will begin releasing 4G-compliant devices during the third-quarter of 2013, and, in preparation for the launch, it has already deployed more than 200,000 LTE-TD base stations across 150 different locations in the country. The operator is said to be ready to open the tender for its LTE-TD equipment — including MiFi routes, smartphones, etc — from next month.
China’s three mobile operators – China Mobile, China Unicom and China Telecom – plan to spend a combined 345 billion yuan ($56 billion) this year on network upgrades. That includes investment in 4G, which multiplies mobile broadband speeds by up to five times for users of Apple Inc’s iPhones or Samsung Electronics’ Galaxy phones.
China Mobile will open the competition with a massive contract. It plans to plough 41.7 billion yuan ($6.75 billion) this year into 200,000 4G base stations in order to provide services for its 710 million customers – more than twice as many as there are people in the U.S.
