Thursday, October 31, 2019

China Unicom launches 5G in 50 cities

China Unicom announced commercial activation of 5G services in 50 major cities across the country.

Service tiers begin at RM 129 (~US$18), and data allowances range from 30GB to 300GB per month. More than ten 5G smartphones are offered.



China Telecom and China Unicom reach 5G sharing deal in 15 cities

China Telecom and China Unicom announced a "co-build, co-share" framework agreement aimed at cutting costs and speeding deployment. The sharing is limited to the access network and 5G spectrum resources. Each company will build and operate their own 5G core network.

The agreement, which covers 15 cities, is based on network construction and operation responsibilities in specific geographies. In the northern cities of Beijing, Tianjin, Zhengzhou, Qingdao and Shijiazhuang, the ratio of construction districts handled by China Unicom to China Telecom will be 6:4. In Shanghai and 9 other southern cities (Chongqing, Guangzhou, Shenzhen, Hangzhou, Nanjing, Suzhou, Changsha, Wuhan, and Chengdu), the ratio of construction districts handled by China Unicom to China Telecom will be 4:6.

China Unicom and China Telecom will maintain their separate ownership structures. The company will continue competing under their existing brands.

China Unicom's revenue dips as it prepares for 5G rollout

China Unicom reported service revenue of RMB 132.957 billion for the first half of 2019, down 1.1% from RMB 134,423 million for the same period in 2018. Net profits increased by 16.3% to RMB 6.88 billion. Operating revenue amounted to RMB 144.954 billion, down -2.8% yoy.

Mobile service revenue dipped 6.6% compared to last year, despite the company adding 9.32 million subscribers during the first half of the year.

Industry Internet Revenue for 1H19 amounted to RMB 16.72 billion, up by 43% compared to the first half of 2018.

Regarding its upcoming 5G rollout, China Unicom said it is pursuing a “co-build co-share" strategy to lower CAPEX requirements, tower usage fees, network maintenance expenses & power charges.

https://www.chinaunicom.com.hk/en/ir/presentations.php