China Mobile Makes Quick 4G Inroads

China Mobile on Tuesday signed agreements with 10 mobile phone manufacturers and retailers, the latest foray into the fledgling 4G market.

Tuesday's agreements saw China Mobile join with manufacturers -- Lenovo, Xiaomi, Oppo, Vivo and Gionee-- as well as retailers and online platforms including Jing Dong, TMall, Suning, Gome and Dixintong. 

The deals will speed up sales of 4G mobiles, a China Mobile official said. 

On Dec. 4, the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology issued 4G licenses to three operators, China Mobile, China Telecom and China Unicom, marking a new era in China's mobile network. 

The three operators received permits for fourth generation (4G) services using homegrown Time-Division Long-Term Evolution (TD-LTE), one of two international standards. The technology will lower bandwidth and promises faster mobile broadband.

China Mobile will hold a worldwide partner conference on Wednesday, when a variety of 4G phones will be launched by domestic and international players.

source: http://english.cri.cn/6909/2013/12/17/2561s803888.htm

China Mobile To Release 4G Service With Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) iPhones; Sprint Customers Declining

Mizuho Securities Analyst Marvin Lo in Hong Kong said that Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL)’s deal with China Mobile Ltd. (ADR) (NYSE:CHL) would give it a big increase in the China market as the largest local carrier has the largest number of users. He added that at least 10% or 70 million wealthier ones would be potential customers for iPhones among China Mobile’s more than 700 million mobile subscribers.

By using the nation’s home grown flavor of LTE called TD-LTE, China Mobile will unveil its 4G network. With existing 4G LTE, the carrier technology is unsuited, an attempt by China to avoid paying patent royalities to Qualcomm, much as it former did with its version of 3G service “TD-SCDMA”.

For TD-LTE, Apple (AAPL)’s iPhone 5s and 5c specifically include support and in early September, China’s Telecom Equipment Certification Center approved the two models. Addition of the two new iPhones is a small minority of devices competent of working on China Mobile’s 4G network and licensed by the state.

According to Consumer Reports’ survey released on Thursday, Sprint Corporation (NYSE:S) attained “dreary marks” in voice, text messaging, 4G reliability and value. However, last year, Sprint ranked No. 2 behind Verizon Wireless. The company is in the middle of upgrading its network to offer improved and faster service to customers, but the transformation has been bumpy for users. That’s why in the last few years, many have left the carrier.

A Sprint representative commented on the Consumer Reports’ survey by saying that they’re not necessarily surprising but disappointing. The company is hopeful that declining rate of customers will get better with improvement in the network. Last month, the company demonstrated Sprint Spark, its enhanced LTE network, to stimulate interest for its next-generation network.

Once again, Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) is on top of the list, although Verizon recently admitted that it was facing pressures in big cities like San Francisco and New York. Consumer Reports said that T-Mobile US Inc (NYSE:TMUS) and AT&T Inc. (NYSE:T) attained “ho-hum” results but for 4G reliability, AT&T was the lone carrier to get a top rating. About offering both the fastest and most reliable network in the nation, AT&T has been advertising a lot while to pair with HSPA+ network, T-Mobile has built out its 4G LTE network.

According to survey, many customers are overpaying for their data, with 38 percent of users surveyed using half or less than half of their monthly data plans.

source: http://www.consensuspress.com/china-mobile-to-release-4g-service-with-apple-inc-nasdaqaapls-iphones-sprint-customers-declining/252602/

Shift to 4G networks faster than previous generations

The rapid take-up means that more than one in eight mobile connections will use superfast 4G networks within the next four years, up from just 176m connections at the end of 2013.

The technology, also known as LTE, offers rapid internet speeds rivalling fixed-line broadband networks, opening up a host of new applications and services for smartphone providers.

Almost 500 LTE networks are forecast to be in service across 128 countries by 2017, roughly double the number of LTE networks today.

The GSMA said the shift to 4G networks will be faster than the corresponding move from 2G to 3G technology over the past decade. Networks using 3G technology were initially slow to be adopted, in part owing to the expense of the spectrum acquired to use the networks in regions such as Europe and lack of smartphones and other connected devices.

The GSMA highlighted a number of factors driving the growth of 4G, such as the more efficient allocation of spectrum to mobile operators, the availability of affordable suitable devices and the implementation of tariffs designed to encourage adoption of high-speed data services.

The study calculates that about a fifth of the global population is within 4G network coverage range, which will rise to about half of the world’s population by 2017. In the US, LTE networks already cover more than 90 per cent of the population and account for almost half of global connections.

However, Asia will grow to account for almost half of all LTE connections by 2017 as networks are rolled out in major markets such as China and India.

China, the world’s largest mobile telecoms market, will be officially open to superfast mobile services next month when China Mobile begins selling 4G tariffs in Beijing, Guangzhou and Chongqing.

China Mobile, the country’s largest mobile group with about 750m mobile subscribers, is expected to be granted a 4G licence in December. The state-backed group has been running trial services in cities in China.

China’s government wants to catch up with the advances seen in countries such as South Korea, which is the most advanced mobile market in the world given half of total mobile connections are running on LTE networks.

The GSMA study also found that LTE users consume 1.5GB of data a month on average, almost twice the average amount consumed by non-LTE users. In developed markets, operators have found that LTE can generate an average revenue per user uplift of between 10 and 40 per cent.

“Since the launch of the first commercial 4G-LTE networks in late 2009 we are seeing deployments accelerate across the globe,” said Hyunmi Yang, chief strategy officer at the GSMA. “Our findings show that the global LTE market is at a tipping point.”

The shift to fourth-generation networks will be faster than the take-up of previous generations of mobile technology in most parts of the world, marking an unprecedented shift in mobile communications.

The number of superfast mobile internet connections worldwide is forecast to pass 1bn by 2017, according to the GSMA, the organisation that represents the interest of mobile operators worldwide.

source: http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/955141e4-55e0-11e3-b6e7-00144feabdc0.html

China Mobile demonstrates world’s first international TDD/FDD VoLTE Call

Chinese operator China Mobile has teamed up with infrastructure vendor Huawei to demonstrate the world’s first international VoLTE HD voice and video calls between a TDD LTE network and a FDD LTE network, the vendor said.

The demonstration was conducted over China Mobile’s VoLTE trial networks in Chengdu and Hangzhou, and a VoLTE network in South Korea.

Li Zhengmao, China Mobile’s vice president, held a meeting to demonstrate the call, as China Mobile steps up its efforts to accelerate VoLTE commercialisation and TD-LTE internationalisation.

The video call demonstration between China Mobile’s trial network in Hangzhou and a network in South Korea was made by Li Zhengmao through the Huawei’s multimedia conference system in Chengdu.

“China Mobile attaches great importance to VoLTE development,” said Li over the video call. “In June of this year, China Mobile’s president, Li Yue, released a VoLTE white paper stating that China Mobile will achieve VoLTE commercialisation by the end of 2014. This VoLTE voice and video interaction has great strategic significance and will help further promote support of the VoLTE solution in the global LTE industry.”

Although China Mobile’s TD-LTE deployment is gaining momentum in China, issues relating to global interoperability of TD-LTE services, such as the international roaming capability of LTE voice and data, as well as VoLTE interworking across different countries, must be resolved before TD-LTE services can achieve full internationalisation.

The VoLTE demonstration shows that China Mobile’s TDD VoLTE network has the capability to cross international boundaries and interwork with networks that use different communication systems, said Huawei.

In July this year, Huawei and China Mobile jointly conducted what they claim was the world’s first TD-LTE based eSRVCC handover test. Then in September, China Mobile made what it claims to be the world’s first national VoLTE voice call in a TD-LTE network environment by partnering with Huawei.

source: http://www.telecoms.com/201081/china-mobile-demonstrates-worlds-first-international-tddfdd-volte-call/

Ericsson continues strategic partnership with China Mobile for LTE

 Ericsson will deploy LTE TDD (TD-LTE) in 15 provinces in mainland China -

these cover some 63 percent of China's population
* Ericsson selected to provide radio access network, Evolved Packet Core and
to upgrade and expand the installed base of core networks
* In the absence of a 3G installed base with China Mobile, this deal
represents recognition of Ericsson's technology leadership in LTE
Ericsson (NASDAQ:ERIC) today announces that it has been selected by China Mobile
(CMCC) to deploy LTE TDD in 15 key provinces in China. These provinces are home
to 63 percent of China's population and include the top three provinces in terms
of GDP.
This is the first phase of the world's largest LTE TDD network deployment.
Ericsson will deploy radio access networks based on its multi-standard RBS
6000. For the core network - which will be used for China Mobile's nationwide
mobile network covering 2G, 3G and 4G - Ericsson has been selected to upgrade
its installed base, equal to a market share of 40 percent in User Data
Management (HLR/HSS). In addition, Ericsson has been awarded 20 percent market
share in Evolved Packet Core. This makes Ericsson China Mobile's main supplier
in Core.
The scope of the contract also includes network design and optimization
services.
Ericsson had no 3G footprint with China Mobile, and this technology shift has
strengthened Ericsson's market position.
Jan Signell, Head of Ericsson Region North East Asia says: "We are pleased that
our LTE TDD technology and services leadership are recognized by China Mobile.
Our leading LTE TDD networks will bring unparalleled network performance to
users and create new opportunities for innovations with connected devices and
applications. We have been a trusted partner to China Mobile since its
introduction of 2G and are committed to supporting the world's largest LTE
deployment."
The deal is aligned with the 11 percent market share in radio access networks
awarded earlier in the China Mobile central purchasing process in September. The
deployment has begun.
Ericsson has been present in mainland China since 1892 and is strongly committed
to this market with one of the largest R&D bases and supply and manufacturing
sites in the world. In addition, Ericsson was a pioneering developer of the TDD
mode of the LTE standard and has made many significant contributions to the
advancement of LTE TDD. Ericsson's LTE TDD and FDD solutions share the same
hardware platform, with commonly applicable software and features, ensuring that
LTE TDD will deliver the same high performance and reliability
Ericsson is the market leader in LTE. Today, 50 percent of the world's LTE
smartphone traffic is served by Ericsson networks, which is more than double the
traffic of our closest competitor. More than 180 LTE RAN and Evolved Packet Core
networks have been delivered worldwide, of which more than 110 have gone live
commercially. Ericsson is present today in all high-traffic LTE markets
including the US, Japan, South Korea, Australia and Canada, and has been
selected by nine of the top 10 LTE operators as ranked by LTE subscriptions
worldwide. We expect to hold 25 percent of all essential patents in LTE, both
for TDD and FDD mode, and we support common hardware and software for FDD and
TDD systems, giving operators maximum flexibility in their FDD and TDD
deployment.

source: http://online.wsj.com/article/PR-CO-20131119-907023.html

The world’s largest mobile carrier, China Mobile, may finally be preparing to sell Apple’s iPhone

China Mobile, the world’s largest wireless carrier, plans to introduce a new brand for mobile services on 18 December, the Wall Street Journal reported on 21 November. The brand is widely expected to be Apple.

The two companies have been in talks about an iPhone for China Mobile for years, but China Mobile has been well behind US carriers in offering 4G, and its 3G network is incompatible with the iPhone’s technology. (Millions of consumers have still attached iPhones to the network, but they can only run at 2G speeds.)

4G licences

“China Mobile executives have said iPhone subscriptions likely would come only after the company introduces its 4G platform. Chinese media, including Nanfang Daily, recently reported that China may issue 4G licences next week,” said the report.

Ericsson announced on 19 November that it has been selected by China Mobile to deploy LTE TDD technology in “15 key provinces in China [that are] home to 63 percent of China’s population and include the top three provinces in terms of [gross domestic product].”

Ericsson said it will be the world’s largest LTE TDD network deployment, and that the deployment has already begun.In September, rumours of an imminent iPhone for China Mobile were furthered when China’s Telecom Equipment Certification Centre gave Apple the final licence it needed for the iPhone to operate on the China Mobile network, the Journal reported on 11 September.

The ability to sell the iPhone to China Mobile’s 759 million subscribers (as of October) would position Apple for significant growth. In smartphone sales, Apple has fallen well behind competitor Samsung, which is the top-selling smartphone maker globally as well as in China – now the largest smartphone market in the world.

China is currently Apple’s second-largest market, but it’s expected to become its first. “I strongly believe that,” Apple chief executive Tim Cook told reporters in January during a trip to China, during which Cook is said to have met with executives at China Mobile.

Market share battle

Apple’s market share during the third quarter dropped to 13 percent from 14 percent a year earlier, but the company’s newest iPhones, the 5S and 5C, weren’t available for the whole of the quarter, and all the major carriers reported receiving limited shipments of the more-popular iPhone 5S.

Supply constraints, and concerns over how quickly China Mobile’s 4G network will be iPhone-ready, have caused Forbes contributor Chuck Jones to caution that reports of an 18 December China Mobile iPhone introduction may be premature.

“One of the key questions is, if China Mobile and Apple were to announce their partnership, would the 200,000 TD-LTE base stations that it plans to have in place by the end of the year, which could handle 4 million active users, be enough for the initial iPhone demand,” Jones wrote in a 22 November post.

source: http://www.techweekeurope.co.uk/news/report-china-mobile-announce-iphone-next-month-132579