China Unicom to upgrade 4G service to 'new level'

China Unicom (Hong Kong) Co Ltd said on Tuesday it will devote all of its core resources to build a better 4G network to catch up with its domestic rivals.

Wang Xiaochu, chairman of China Unicom, said, "We will channel all our core resources to ensure a better 4G network, higher Internet speed and better-quality voice calls."

In his first public speech since becoming the head of the country's second largest telecom carrier in August, Wang said he was determined to upgrade China Unicom's 4G service and products to a new level.

Currently, China Unicom is falling far behind China Mobile in both the construction of 4G towers while the number of 4G users remained unchanged.

According to third-quarter financial reports ending in September, China Mobile built over 1 million 4G communication base stations and its 4G subscribers surged to 247 million.

In comparison, China Unicom said it would build 500,000 towers by the end of this year and did not disclose the latest figure. Due to limited construction plans and marketing efforts, the company only has 53 million 4G users.