Chinese telecom carriers are making significant progress in constructing low-band 5G networks, and much of the attention is drawn to the 700MHz frequency which is part of the wider ultra-high frequency (UHF) band, said Telecom Review.
At the beginning of 2021, China Mobile and China Broadcasting Network (CBN) had announced a 5G strategic cooperation agreement to construct and share a 700 MHz 5G network. As a combined effort, they have purchased 480,400 700 MHz 5G base stations this year.
Analyst Guang Yang at Strategy Analytics said this increase of base stations in 700 MHz will be a significant boost to the 5G infrastructure market. It will also be a catalyst for the 5G development in China, since most of the 5G base stations in China deployed so far in the 2.6 GHz or 3.5 GHz band.
China Telecom and China Unicom have jointly launched the centralised procurement of 242,000 5G base stations and have recently released the announcement on public bidding involving the 2.1 GHz wireless primary device needed in the 5G SA construction project in 2021.
Telecom Review reports the increased 5G activities in 700 MHz band will drive 5G investment in China and benefit domestic equipment vendors like Huawei. In China Mobile and CBN bidding, Huawei is leading the industry with around 60% of the total share of 5G CAPEX spending in China.
With the strength of wider coverage and low propagation loss, Telecom Review expects the low band 5G frequencies will enable a better 5G network experience.
