4G for You and MeText

On December 4， 2013， China’s Ministry of Industry and Information Technology（MIIT） issued fourth generation （4G） licenses to the country’s three major telecom operators – China Mobile， China Unicom， and China Telecom， marking China’s official entrance into the 4G era. The licenses are all based on the Time Division-Long Term Evolution （TD-LTE）， a Chinese-developed standard.

What 4G Brings

With the increasing ubiquity of smartphones， the mobile internet has become an indispensable part of daily life. The 2.5G era， characterized by General Packet Radio Service （GPRS） technology， enabled people to use the internet and chat online with their cell phones. 3G allowed smartphone users to watch online videos. 4G will provide users with even faster mobile internet access.

Just how fast is 4G wireless service？ The download speed of 4G devices can reach 100Mbps. Ideally， users could download a 7MB music file in one second， a 1GB movie in about a minute， or a 40GB 3D Blue Ray movie in about two hours.

In the future， superfast 4G wireless networks could make dreams become reality： Community doctors will be able to remotely diagnose emergency illnesses for elderly patients. Students at remote rural schools will be able to communicate with teachers from thousands of miles away via wireless video.

“Along with its constant improvement in China， the 4G network will not only allow mobile users to enjoy faster wireless internet access， but also promote the development of mobile internet applications，”explains Zhang Feng， spokesman for MIIT.“It will stimulate improvement of information services such as mobile office， mobile e-commerce， mobile logistics， and smart families while inspiring new wireless services and attracting greater numbers of users to enjoy the fruits of the 4G era.”

Competitive Landscape

In the 2G era， China Mobile controlled 70 percent of China’s mobile telecom market. After 3G began commercial operation in January 2009， the country’s three telecom carriers were granted different licenses. China Mobile received the homegrown TD-SCDMA standard， while China Unicom and China Telecom obtained WCDMA and CDMA2000， respectively. Due to their advantageous standards， the latter two operators， which lagged behind in the 2G era， jumped ahead of China Mobile in terms of user reputation， speed and reliability.

This time， all three operators were granted TD-LTE licenses， so they will start from the same place in the 4G era. In fact， prior to the issuance of 4G licenses， all three operators were investing considerable resources in preparation for the arrival of 4G. China Mobile launched 4G trial service in several cities including Beijing， Guangzhou， and Hangzhou. China Telecom has issued 4G device requirements to some mobile phone manufacturers. China Unicom has invited 4G network equipment bids.

Undoubtedly， all three telecom carriers will continue investing greater resources in 4G networks， in hopes of securing an edge in the next round of market competition.

Patiently Waiting

With the issuance of 4G licenses， investment in 4G devices and networks will see a boom and accelerate the maturation of the TD-LTE industry in China and even around the world. The country hopes its homegrown 4G standard will no longer lag behind its global rivals.

For mobile users， however， the issuance of 4G licenses was only the first step into the 4G era. Time is needed for 4G networks to mature and 4G devices to gain popularity. Many factors， such as the infancy of 4G networks， underdevelopment of 4G devices and applications， and high 4G costs， will affect the popularity of 4G service.

In fact， similar problems already exist in the 3G epoch. According to statistics released by MIIT Performance Inspection and Coordination Bureau， by May 2013， 304 million Chinese people were using 3G， only 26.1 percent of all cell phone users.

In addition to network quality， the 4G price tag is another issue making users apprehensive. According to industry insiders， if users watch videos or download movies， data totaling hundreds of megabytes or even several gigabytes will be used in only a few minutes. If mobile firms don’t provide affordable data packages， 4G service will be priced out of the reach of most users.

Expensive 4G devices are another obstacle to overcome. According to Li Yue， president of China Mobile， 4G phones are now comparatively expensive， but he predicts 4G devices priced around 1，000 yuan will emerge by the second half of 2014.

With the popularity of smartphones and mobile internet， public demand for faster data transmission will only enhance performance. From a long-term perspective， as the market size continues growing， prices of 4G devices and service will definitely fall. The only question is： How long will it take？