China Mobile to put 4G network to the test in Hong Kong

China Mobile will this month start commercial services with its home-grown, fourth-generation network in Hong Kong as the world's largest mobile-phone company by subscribers moves closer to a nationwide roll-out.

The carrier would add services in the city with the 4G standard it backed called TD-LTE, to high-speed operations it began locally in April using an alternative global 4G standard, Cynthia Chan, a spokeswoman for China Mobile Hong Kong, said.

China Mobile chief executive Li Yue is betting the move to faster data networks can help reverse a trend of decelerating revenue. Sales growth will probably slow to about 6 per cent this year from almost 9 per cent in 2011, according to data compiled by Bloomberg.

Starting the TD-LTE service in Hong Kong was "very clever positioning" that should help the company win government approval for the rest of China, said HSBC analyst Tucker Grinnan. "The China Mobile Hong Kong launch is really designed to support the TD launch in China, develop the skill and show the Chinese government TD is commercially viable.By deploying a convergent network in Hong Kong, China Mobile is providing a real-world demo."

The dual network provided users better roaming coverage, while cutting installation and maintenance costs for carriers, Grinnan said. China Mobile would be the first carrier in Asia offering such a dual-mode network, Chan said.

Frequency division duplex, or FDD, and time division duplex, or TDD, are the two main methods of delivering the 4G service based on long-term evolution, or LTE, technology.