Mobile operator 3 Hong Kong plans to deploy cloud-based network by early 2019, eyes quick 5G debut

3 Hong Kong, the mobile telecom arm of Hutchison Telecommunications Hong Kong, said on Monday it plans to deploy a fully cloud-based core network by the first quarter of 2019, as it tries to steal a march on debuting 5G mobile services in the city.

Although an international agreement on frequency bands and universal standards for 5G will not be reached until late next year, Hutchison Telecom chief executive Cliff Woo Chiu-man said 3 Hong Kong has been working with Huawei since 2016 to move its 3G and 4G core networks to the cloud, a move that will help it evolve into its 5G network architecture.

“With a fully cloudified core network, which we now target to complete by the first quarter of 2019, our evolution into 5G network services will be a much smoother and straight forward process,” said Woo. The Hong Kong government is likely to assign spectrum for 5G services after the international agreement is reached; with the roll-out of commercial 5G services expected in 2020.

5G boasts of speeds of up to 10 gigabits per second, or 10-12 times faster than 4G mobile technology. It also supports one million connected devices per square kilometre, taking Internet of Things to the next level.