China has launched a trial run of home-grown fourth-generation mobile technology in Shanghai. 4G technology provides wireless services at much faster speeds, sharply improving high-quality images and data services, and potentially allowing for such features as multi-channel high-definition TV broadcasting. Third-generation (3G) telephony is still not available in China due to repeated government delays and therefore engineers have moved directly to developing the ultra-fast 4G technology.
The 4G trial in Shanghai cost 150 million yuan (19 million dollars) and was billed by the government as the world's first rollout of the technology. However, South Korea's high-tech giant Samsung Electronics last August unveiled the world's first fourth-generation (4G) mobile technology with a demonstration on a moving bus and expects to put it into commercial use by 2010. After more field tests of the 4G system, China aims to put the technology into trial commercial sometime before 2010.
"It testifies that the technology we've developed is feasible and brings us one step closer to put it into commercial use. The Shanghai system shows that we have entered the final phase of our project," the China Daily quoted You Xiaohu, a leading expert involved in China's 4G development programme.
News source: Physorg
3 Comments - Add comment