China Mobile Hong Kong and Huawei join forces to mark 4.5G mobile network milestone

Showcasing three major network enhancements in 2016 and world’s first successful live demonstration of 2.3GHz TDD Massive MIMO Solution Test

[Hong Kong, 14th November, 2016] China Mobile Hong Kong Company Limited (CMHK) and Huawei today jointly announced that CMHK has achieved a 4.5G mobile network milestone. In addition, CMHK also noted that it has rolled out three major network enhancements this year, aimed at strengthening its network coverage; optimizing network quality in MTR areas and creating an exceptional mobile network experience through its latest network technology.

CMHK and Huawei officiate the launch of China Mobile Hong Kong’s new generation of 4.5G network.

In addition, powered by their advanced technology, CMHK and Huawei successfully met two real-time network challenges, the world’s first live demonstration of “2.3GHz TDD Massive MIMO Solution” test and a “TDD + FDD 1Gbps Download Speed” test. The successful execution of these tests is a testament to CMHK’s commitment to provide customers with an innovative and unparalleled mobile network experience.

4.5G as the stepping stone to 5G networks

In the era of data-only services, there is an explosive growth in demand for high-quality mobile network services. By deploying Massive MIMO, a key innovation of 4.5G technology, CMHK can enhance network capacity and coverage in heavily populated areas. At the same time, CMHK introduced an unrivaled high definition entertainment and voice experience with its ultra-high-speed network. The launch of 4.5G today marks a significant milestone in LTE evolution, laying the foundation for the era of IoT and smart living supported with 5G technology.

Mr. Sean Lee, Director and Chief Executive Officer of CMHK, said

"CMHK is committed to continuous innovation and network enhancement, providing customers with an unprecedented mobile network experience. With the growing demand for high-quality mobile network service, we have been actively developing our 4.5G network. We are now one step closer to the 5G era bringing a superior network experience to customers. Our partnership with Huawei gives a boost to our network to achieve a significant enhancement in capacity and speed, laying a solid basis for continuous optimization of user experience and technological evolution.”

Mr. Deng Tai Hua, President of the Huawei Wireless Network Product Line, said

"China Mobile is a leading telecommunications services provider globally and Huawei is pleased to be the strategic partner of CMHK, which owns a TD-LTE / LTE FDD converged network. Today’s real-time network tests demonstrated the ability of Massive MIMO technology and enhanced the efficiency and effectiveness of the TDD spectrum. The TDD+FDD carrier aggregation technology also brought higher surfing speed for fast growing numbers of mobile internet users. We believe that Huawei’s world-leading 4.5G technology will empower CMHK’s path of offering superior service, grasping the trends of high-definition mobile entertainment and quality experience.”

Optimizing network experience with strategic spectrum restructuring

Following the implementation of a number of robust network optimization projects in recent years, CMHK has strategically restructured the utilization of its 1800MHz, 2100MHz, 2300MHz and 2600MHz spectrum bands, achieving a great enhancement in network bandwidth and providing smoother user experience.

Three major network enhancements in 2016 to advance mobile experience

In an era led by cutting-edge technology, CMHK has been keeping itself at the forefront of technology innovations. “In addition to our initiative in 4.5G network development, CMHK also rolled out three major network enhancement projects this year, including a growing number of base stations for better coverage, upgrades of the radio network system for quality enhancement at MTR stations, as well as boosting download speeds by adopting the latest advanced technologies.” said Mr. Lee.

Enhancing overall network coverage with advanced technology

CMHK is dedicated to enlarging network coverage and to do that, the number of base stations has been increased by 12% compared to the same period in 2015. At the same time, CMHK is upgrading existing base station equipment and replacing core network equipment to build an advanced NFV core network. The company expects to upgrade 60% of its base stations by end of 2016 and 90% by second quarter of 2017. The overall infrastructure enhancement will lead the industry in massive deployment of the latest advanced technologies such as Massive MIMO, 4x4 MIMO, Downlink 256QAM and Uplink 64QAM.

Better network coverage in the MTR

CMHK has worked closely with the MTR Corporation to deploy the LTE 2100MHz system in MTR stations, in which some busy MTR stations including Prince Edward, Tsim Sha Tsui, Central and Admiralty are in service now, while gradual deployment at other stations is in progress. The target is to complete 76 MTR stations by early 2017, achieving an over 50% increase in network capacity.

The radio network system for MTR areas will be fully upgraded to provide LTE 2600MHz network coverage. Currently, the network enhancement program for Tsim Sha Tsui Station concourse is completed and the network capacity has been increased four-fold in the station concourse. The upgrade will be continued in seven other key MTR stations including Quarry Bay, Jordan, Mong Kok and Prince Edward and the target is to roll-out in totally to 18 major MTR stations with an expected completion date of within three years.

Enhanced download speeds technology

CMHK enhances network download speeds by using innovative technologies – LTE-A CA, 4x4 MIMO and 256QAM technology achieving a peak data rate of 1Gbps, increased by 7-9 times compared to using a 4G single carrier network. Over 50% of base station backhaul has been upgraded to 1Gbps speeds and plans call for that to increase by 90% in 2017. Also, CMHK has restructured LTE spectrum resources for better utilization, enhancing LTE network experience and data speeds provided by indoor systems that will be doubled by the end of 2016.

The world’s first 2.3GHz TDD Massive MIMO Test

CMHK has completed the world’s first “2.3GHz TDD Massive MIMO Solution” test today, making it the first mobile operator to achieve over 650Mpbs peak throughput with TDD 20MHz bandwidth in 2.3GHz spectrum. Massive MIMO is a key technology stepping up to 5G network which is firstly introduced in 4.5G network. Using 128T128R Massive MIMO technology, the spectrum efficiency is successfully improved 5-6 times. In addition, CMHK also demonstrated the “TDD + FDD 1Gbps Peak Download Speed” test to showcase its improvements in network capacity and speed, leveraging advanced 4.5G technologies including TDD+FDD 4CC CA, 256QAM and 4x4 MIMO resulting in 1Gbps peak throughput. (Please refer to fact sheet for more information)

Through a number of network innovations and 4.5G network enhancement powered by Huawei, CMHK is bringing its customers diversified services with high speeds and lower latency. At the same time, CMHK has also deployed a NFV core network, setting an important milestone for the world of 5G and more innovative mobile experience. Moving forward, with its customer-oriented approach and 5G network development in mind, CMHK will continue to offer high speed quality service and commitment to be the best partner for smart living.