The Ministry of
Industry and Information Technology (MIIT)
will release fourth generation (4G)
telecommunications licenses by the end
of this year, Xinhua News Agency
reported Saturday, citing an official
from the ministry.
The move
is expected to accelerate broadband
development in China, the biggest
telecom market in the world in
terms of number of
subscribers.
According to the
report, the government will also
enhance 3G network coverage and service
quality, and encourage private capital
to enter the telecom
market.
The 4G network is
expected to give users access to
faster Internet speeds, an area in
which China has lagged behind other
markets.
China's three telecom
operators have already laid out their
strategies for the development of 4G
mobile networks.
In June this
year, China Mobile, the country's
largest mobile carrier by user base,
said that the company has built
more than 22,000 4G base stations in 15
cities across China, and plans to
set up 200,000 base stations in 100
cities by the end of this
year.
Figures from MIIT show
that the information consumption market
in China was worth 1.7 trillion yuan
($276.86 billion) in 2012, an increase of 29
percent from the previous year, and
the market is expected to reach 3.2
trillion yuan by 2015.
