China Telecommunications Corporation aggressively pushes into the fifth-generation market with the launch of its own 5G commercial systems next month, part of the company's commercialization strategy before the year ends.
The country's third-biggest operator in terms of mobile subscribers, China Telecoms Corp on Monday bared it will sell cellular phone numbers for 5G use in Beijing starting September and cater to new clients, Beijing Daily revealed.
The company said that current mobile phone subscribers do not have to change their cellular numbers and SIM cards. With the purchase of a new 5G-enabled mobile device, they can upgrade their old 4G gadget to a 5G model. China Telecoms said the price of a 5G data package ranges from 199 yuan ($28) to 599 yuan per month.
China Telecommunications Corporation popularly referred to as China Telecoms, is a Chinese-operated and controlled telecommunication company. It is the biggest fixed-line service provider and the third-largest cellular provider in mainland China.
Information Consumption Alliance director-general Xiang Ligang projected that other big telecom companies like China Unicom and China Mobile will also officially launch their own 5G service next month. China Telecoms announced in June last year that it would acquire China Unicom's nationwide CDMA division for 110 billion yuan, giving CTC 43 million mobile data customers.
China Telecoms entry into the highly-stacked mobile data market is a big challenge for the company. And, very costly, too. For instance, according to Xiang, the "199 yuan 5G package is too expensive." In fact, the company "still lags a little behind compared with other competitors in terms of 5G capability," Xiang pointed out.
A fifth-generation mobile service provides 10-times faster line of communication compared to 4G. It is seen to change the way conventional mobile data tech will be used in the coming years. By offering a 5G service that is priced higher than its rivals', CTC is trying to lure in a certain number of 5G clients instead of subscribers in big numbers in the short-term.
Clearly, maintaining this kind of pricing package will not be a walk in the park but Xiang added -- given the "uphill battle with arch-rivals" -- the company is certain their new 5G offering will be as competitive and price-worthy around 100 yuan or much lower in the future.
As the existing mobile data service market is becoming nearly convoluted, it is increasingly difficult for telecoms companies to jack up sales by sticking to the traditional mode of income-drivers alone. Xiang, however, is aware that carriers will have their hands full in the competition, considering the government's efforts to boost its competitiveness and reliability.
