China may start the commercial use of its fourth-generation (4G) telecommunication technology in 2012.
China Mobile Communications said commercial tests of its own Time Division-Long Term Evolution (TD-LTE) will first be conducted in metropolitan areas around the Pearl and Yangtze River Deltas in 2011 and across the country in 2012.
Fourth-generation mobile service can transmit data as much as 10 times faster than 3G so you can watch TV on your phone. And LTE will help address concerns about possible data overload.
Data revenue accounts for 30% of China Mobile’s total sales.
Bernama reported that China’s mobile data market reached US$20.3 billion in 2009, behind the US with US$44.5 billion and Japan with US$32.5 billion.