China First to Launch 4G Standard
Link: China First to Launch 4G Standard
China has launched the world’s first fourth-generation standard despite the fact that it has not yet released 3G telephone services in mainland China.
According to the official ‘China Daily’, 4G has been rolled out in Shanghai by a group of 10 Chinese organisations. The group launched the B3G (Beyond 3G)/4G research project in 2001 under the label Future Technology for Universal Radio Environment, or FuTURE Project.
The 4G system, which will allow data to be transmitted at up to 100 megabytes per second, cost 150 million yuan to roll out - around $19.3m. It will now be subjected to field tests and then trialled in commercial use until 2010.
4G will be able to transmit data as quickly as optical fibre, bringing significant improvements in the streaming of high-quality images and data services through wireless transmission.
China has experienced long delays with developing its 3G service, but the issue of third-generation licenses, allowing domestic telecom operators to build 3G mobile phone networks, is expected to commence later this year.
