China Carriers to Offer 5G for Public on Nov. 1, Beijing News Says

(Bloomberg) -- China’s mobile carriers will begin offering 5G mobile services, which offer dramatically increased transmission speeds, for the first time to the public on Nov. 1, the Beijing News reported Friday.

China Mobile Ltd., the country’s largest carrier, will introduce the service in Beijing, the newspaper said, citing Li Wei, general manager of the carrier’s Beijing office. The country’s other two operators will also roll out the service for customers on the same day, the paper said, citing sources it didn’t identify.

The introductions come about four months after China issued commercial 5G licenses to the country’s three main carriers and one broadcaster, setting the country on course to be among the world’s first to introduce the technology for consumers.

China’s three wireless carriers did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

Key Insights

• China is poised to become the world’s largest 5G market by users, a position that could help it set global standards for such networks and boost its drive to become a leader in technologies from robotics to autonomous driving and factory automation.
• The accelerated push into 5G may also give China’s equipment makers a boost, just as the country’s biggest technology manufacturer, Huawei Technologies Co. faces a U.S.-led boycott and campaign to portray its products as posing and espionage threat.
• South Korea was the first country to introduce full commercial availability of 5G earlier this year, while some carriers in countries including the U.S., U.K. and Australia have also rolled out the services in some areas this year.

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• The three Chinese operators have planned a combined capital expenditure of 302 billion yuan ($43 billion) this year, including the costs to build 130,000 base stations.
• China Mobile intends to provide commercial 5G services in 50 cities this year, with a goal of reaching 340 cities in 2020, Chairman Yang Jie said at an event this month.
• As of early October, more 10 million people in China have made online bookings for 5G services, pending the release of package prices, according to the websites of the country’s carriers: China Mobile, China Unicom Hong Kong Ltd. and China Telecom Corp.
• China Unicom Chief Executive Officer Wang Xiaochu said in August the company’s 5G packages would be as cheap as 190 yuan ($27) a month. The Beijing Daily newspaper reported in the same month that China Telecom would charge between 199 yuan and 599 yuan for its monthly 5G plans, citing sources.
• China Mobile has accelerated its plan to implement its own 5G network, while smaller rivals China Telecom and China Unicom are sharing 5G infrastructure to cut costs.

To contact the reporter on this story: Shirley Zhao in Hong Kong at xzhao306@bloomberg.net

To contact the editors responsible for this story: Sam Nagarajan at samnagarajan@bloomberg.net, Dave McCombs

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