Many of us have heard the term "4G", the stronger and faster network that will make our cell phones more powerful than ever. Now China's telecoms authorities are testing the country's first batch of 4G cell phones -- good news for those determined to have the very latest in technology. After testing completed, licences will be issued for 4G phones to be sold in China. For more on this, we're now joined in the studio by my colleague Zhong Shi.
Wang Mangmang: "Zhong Shi, I'm looking forward to using 4G. How soon is it likely to happen?"
Zhong Shi: "Mangmang, I believe I do have some very good news. The 4G experience includes two parts, the network known as the TD-L-T-E, or Long Term Evolution technology, and the cell phones that can work on that network. On the network front, China Mobile is leading the infrastructure expansion with a domestic 4-g standard. It's awarding supply contracts worth about 20 billion yuan, or about $3.3 billion to both domestic and foreign telecom equipment makers. And as you mentioned, the 4G phones are being tested by the telecom authorities to get permission to be sold. On Wednesday, China Mobile and Samsung jointly released the first 4G cell phone for use in China, the result of cooperation between a network operator and a phone brand to catch up on the 4G trend. Now, we've all HEARD how 4G technology can greatly improve downloading speeds, so let's see it in action."
Hate waiting for websites to load on your smartphone? Well the next generation of cellular communications will allow you to access social media, entertainment and information on the go faster and easier. In a world where mobile data usage is increasing by two and a half times a year, fourth generation cellular technology is being built specifically to bring more speed and greater reliability to mobile devices. Things that were never possible will be simple on the network, such as watching high definition TV shows during your daily commute or lunch break.
Lei Wen, consumer, said, "I didn't expect the internet to be so fast on the bus, I can watch TV and browse websites very smoothly, I really enjoy the ride."