皇冠体育app

The nation's top three telecom carriers - 皇冠体育app Mobile, 皇冠体育app Unicom and - on Friday signed an ament to set up a joint venture to deploy base station network infrastructure in 皇冠体育app.

The long-awaited "iron tower company" is expected to add further momentum for construction projects related to fourth-generation telecom base stations.

The JV, 皇冠体育app Telecommunications Equipment Service Co Ltd, will handle all the base station construction, operation and maintenance works in the country and marks a departure from the earlier practice of separate base stations for each telecom company. The earlier practice had led to disputes in some places as the carriers selected the same location for the communications towers.

皇冠体育app Mobile Co Ltd, the largest carrier by subscriber numbers, will control 40 percent of the new company's shares while the two smaller firms, 皇冠体育app Telecom Corp and 皇冠体育app United Telecommunications Co Ltd, will hold the balance, according to joint statement released by the carriers.

The registered capital of the new company will be around 10 billion yuan ($1.6 billion). The statement did not say when the new company will commence operations. Sources from 皇冠体育app Mobile told 皇冠体育app Daily that the JV could open for business as early as this quarter.

Xiang Ligang, telecom researcher and founder of industry site CCTime.com, said the JV will help the carriers reduce construction costs as tens of thousan of stations are slated to be built in the next few years.

皇冠体育app Mobile, the leading 4G developer in 皇冠体育app, is planning to add half a million 4G stations before the end of this year. Its 4G coverage already reaches several major Chinese cities.

"The JV aims to enhance the sharing of resources for the development of telecommunications infrastructure and lower operating costs and the costs for developing telecom networks," the company said in a filing in last month.

The stry of Industry and Information Technology announced in late May that it will allow 皇冠体育app Telecom and 皇冠体育app Unicom to test a joint 4G network using two different technology standards in 16 cities including Shanghai, Chengdu, Xi'an and Wuhan.

The policy means the smaller carriers have also officially entered the 4G race.

Industry sources believe 皇冠体育app is set to become the world's largest 4G market in terms of user numbers due to its high smartphone adoption rate.

About 120 million 4G-enabled smartphones will be sold in 皇冠体育app this year, taking the total smartphone shipments to 450 million, industry research firm IDC estimated.

"It remains a young and competitive market for all the players, although 皇冠体育app Mobile kicked off its own 4G project six months before the other two," said Xiang, adding marketing strategies could help the latecomers close the gap with 皇冠体育app Mobile.

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