Country set to lead telecoms revolution

Cher Wang, chairwoman of Taiwan-based smartphone vendor HTC Corp, said the accelerated commercialization and globalization of LTE will bring about a significant change in the economic landscape.

"In addition, it will also bring a great opportunity to the development of the mobile industry chain," Wang added. HTC manufactured the world's first LTE smartphone and the company is preparing for the market launch of its first smartphone supporting the Chinese homegrown Time Division-Long Term Evolution (TD-LTE) 4G standard.

LTE is a common global telecommunication standard, that includes frequency division duplex and time division duplex modes for paired and unpaired spectrums.

According to the latest data from the Global Mobile Suppliers Association, 213 LTE commercial networks had been deployed globally as of Sept 5, up 67 networks from the end of last year. Meanwhile, the number of LTE global connections exceeded 126 million.

Wen, from the Ministry of Industry and Technology, said the LTE 4G technology will act as a driver for China's high-tech industry development. "LTE will provide a platform for innovation and help create opportunities for many companies," Wen said.

The State Council has issued guidance in August to call for boosting domestic information-sector consumption. The country hopes information use will become another key area of the economy after real estate and automobiles.

However, LTE development will usher in challenges, as well as opportunities for China. "One of the major challenges is how companies can speed up innovation to bring innovative products to customers and the experience of the best value," said Chen Yi, vice-president of mobile technology with Youku Tudou Inc, a Chinese online video company.