The operators unveiled their monthly 5G packages.
China Mobile, China Telecom and China Unicom have launched 5G services on November 1st, 2019. The operators unveiled their monthly 5G packages. Price plans are quite similar among the three MNOs. Entry-level plans cost 129 CNY (16 EUR) per month and offer 30GB data with 300 Mbps of download speeds and 500 minutes of voice and. Most expensive plans cost 599 CNY (76 EUR) and offer 300GB of data with download speeds of up to 1Gbps. Only high-end price plans offer 5G-like speeds.
Each player has activated their network in 50 cities at launch, including Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou, Shenzhen, Hangzhou, Nanjing, Tianjin, Wuhan, Jinan, and Zhengzhou. Authorities said they plan to install over 50,000 5G base stations across the country by the end of 2019. Shanghai had activated 11,859 5G base stations by mid-October, in key outdoor areas.
China Mobile notes that it has built more than 50,000 5G base transceiver stations in 50 key cities and has carried out 5G network construction in more than 300 cities across the country. In 2020, the operator will further expand its network coverage, with a view to providing 5G services to all cities above the prefecture level. China Unicom and China Telecom agreed to share the construction of base stations in 24 cities, as per an agreement signed on 9 September. China Telecom said earlier in YE2019 that it plans to invest 9 billion CNY (1.14 billion EUR) and build 40,000 5G base stations by the end of the year. China Unicom is also planning to build 40,000 5G base stations by the end of 2019.
In early October 2019, the three major mobile operators already registered almost 9 million 5G users before the official launch. China Mobile announced 5.32 million subscribers, China Telecom hit 1.76 million subs, and China Unicom was right in line with 1.75 million users.
