China Unicom, the second-largest mobile carrier in the country, is set to start offering 4G service.
On Tuesday, the company announced the official launch of its TD-LTE 4G service and mobile packages for 25 major cities across China. And it expects to expand its coverage to 300 cities by year-end. China Unicom is the last of the major providers to make the jump to 4G, after China Mobile and China Telecom earlier announced similar plans.
Also on Tuesday, China Unicom released about 60 new terminal devices, with over a third capable of handling the 4G network. It’s estimated that sales of China Unicom’s terminal devices -- which include mobile phones, smarthphones, data cards, and tablets -- will reach 188 million units. About 100 million of the units will support both 3G and 4G networks.
The fourth-generation wireless service is designed to deliver internet speeds four to ten times faster than the 3G system.