China Mobile plans to launch the commercial side of its 4G services to the over one billion Chinese mobile phone users on December 18, 2013.
While launching its 4G services, China Mobile will also officially unveil its new business brand "And". The new brand is formed by a green English word "And", an exclamation mark, and a pink Chinese character "He", which means "and" in Mandarin. The combination of green and pink colors aims to create an image of youth and vitality for the staid China Mobile.
The Chinese government expects to issue 4G licenses before China Mobile's launch of 4G commercial services. A representative from China Mobile Shanghai branch revealed that after the launch of 4G services, users can apply to use 4G without changing their current phone numbers.
Users in Beijing, Guangzhou, and Chongqing will be the first to enjoy the new services. The services will later be available in Shanghai since the city is building a citywide 4G network.
Li Yue, president of China Mobile, once said 4G phones will soon be popular in mainland China due to the low prices. Li predicted that by the second half of 2014, the price of a typical 4G phone will be lower than CNY1,000.