China Broadcasting Corporation's 5G 700MHz construction encounters a song of "ice and fire"

Recently, China Radio and Television Network Co., Ltd. (hereinafter referred to as China Radio and Television), a "newcomer" holding 700MHz, encountered a song of "ice and fire". It successfully made a 700MHz 5G data call, but was met with a cold reception in its cooperation with China Mobile.

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700MHz First Call after 5G R16 Standard Freeze

On August 17, China Radio and Television Corporation announced that it had successfully completed the world's first 700MHz (n28 band) FDD band 2*30MHz large bandwidth 5G data call in cooperation with Qualcomm. It is understood that this test is also the first 700MHz 5G data call after the 5G R16 standard was frozen, with a downlink peak rate of 300Mbit/s.

Jin Feng, a senior analyst in the communications industry, believes: "The original standard for the n28 frequency band was 2*20MHz. The expanded new standard of 2*30/40MHz was adopted in March 2020 (numbered TR38.888) and was officially frozen with the freezing of 5G R16. It can be said that this test is also a test of the new standard." It is worth mentioning that since the bandwidth used in this test is 2*30MHz, not 2*40MHz, "Does this mean that 2*10MHz in the 700MHz band will be used by other operators? This leaves a lot of room for imagination in the industry." Yang Guang, director of wireless network services at Strategy Analytics, said.

In addition to interoperability testing, China Radio and Television is also continuously promoting the construction of 5G standards. Zeng Qingjun, deputy general manager of China Radio and Television, recently revealed that China Radio and Television and other industry partners have successfully launched the project to promote the standard for 700MHz large-size terminals to support DL Rx 4 antennas.

In addition, in terms of terminals, China Radio and Television has worked with domestic and foreign industry partners to complete the model approval of my country's first batch of 5G 700MHz terminal system equipment. Product categories include 700MHz frequency band base station equipment, 5G mobile phones, CPE terminals, industrial modules, etc. This marks that my country's 5G 700MHz industry chain has entered a gradual maturity stage, which is of great significance for the accelerated implementation of my country's 5G 700MHz network construction.

Joining hands with China Mobile but no results yet

Although China Radio and Television has made good progress in 5G interoperability testing, standards and terminals, the 700MHz cooperation between China Radio and Television and China Mobile has not been as smooth as expected.

Yang Jie, chairman of China Mobile, said at the 2020 interim earnings conference that the two sides are further discussing the details of how to jointly invest in the construction of the 700MHz 5G wireless network. It is estimated that China Radio and Television and China Mobile will not have any substantial network construction deployment in their 5G cooperation this year, and will continue to promote 5G co-construction and sharing next year.

According to the 5G cooperation framework agreement between China Mobile and China Broadcasting Corporation announced on May 20, the network construction plan was jointly determined by the two parties, and they will jointly invest in the construction of the 700MHz 5G wireless network in a 1:1 ratio, and jointly own and have the right to use the 700MHz 5G wireless network assets. Before the 700MHz frequency band 5G network is commercially available, China Broadcasting Corporation will share China Mobile's 2G/4G/5G networks for a fee to provide services to its customers.

Regarding the "delay" in the implementation of the cooperation between China Mobile and China Radio and Television, Yang Guang said: "The cooperation between China Radio and Television and China Mobile involves many factors and requires a process. First of all, China Radio and Television's 700MHz 5G construction first needs to adjust the existing TV business and clear the relevant frequencies. Secondly, the implementation of the cooperation between China Mobile and China Radio and Television also requires detailed negotiations among local companies. Especially considering that China Radio and Television's national network integration has not been completely completed, it is reasonable to expect that the two sides will start specific cooperation in 2021."

The delay in the implementation of 5G construction by both parties is also related to China Mobile's 5G construction plan. Generally speaking, China Mobile has determined the scale of investment in 5G construction for the whole year at the beginning of the year. Jin Feng said: "The joint construction and sharing between China Mobile and China Radio and Television was not mentioned in the previous plan, so it involves the issue of additional investment, which has led to the delay of construction, but it will not have much impact on China Mobile."