Telecom service provider China Mobile is planning to launch its new brand AND and the 4G LTE services commercially on December 18, 2013.
The target is to tap more than one billion Chinese mobile phone users.
Currently, China Mobile has around 176,019,000 3G customers as of 30 October 2013. In September, China Mobile’s 3G users were 169,502,000.
China is behind Korea in 4G. But the country has the potential to become the largest 4G market in the world thanks to China Mobile’s efforts. Earlier, China Mobile said it would increase capital spending (Capex) to 190.2 billion yuan ($30.6 billion) in 2013 from 127.4 billion yuan a year earlier. ( China Mobile to raise Capex to $30.6 billion in 2013 )
China Mobile will also officially unveil its new business brand “And”. The new brand is formed by a green English word “And”, an exclamation mark, and a pink Chinese character “He”, which means “and” in Mandarin. The combination of green and pink colors aims to create an image of youth and vitality for the staid China Mobile, Chinese dailies reported.
The Chinese government expects to issue 4G licenses before China Mobile’s launch of 4G commercial services. After the launch of 4G services, users can apply to use 4G without changing their current phone numbers.
Users in Beijing, Guangzhou, and Chongqing will be the first to enjoy the new services. The services will later be available in Shanghai since the city is building a citywide 4G network.
Li Yue, president of China Mobile, predicted that by the second half of 2014, the price of a typical 4G phone will be lower than CNY 1,000.
Earlier, media reports suggested that Apple will clinch its iPhone deal with China Mobile to supply iPhone 5c and iPhone 5s smartphones before the commercial launch of 4G in China. If Apple can finalize the contract, it will give additional boost to the device major.
