Industry giants push tech ahead

Major Chinese telecommunications operators are offering improved connection services and a greater variety of content for 4K TV, or Ultra High Definition TV transmission.

China United Network Communications Group Co Ltd and China Mobile Communications Corp have both committed to improving the 4K services and content they offer their customers and supporting the expansion of the sector.

4K TV is a new resolution standard designed for digital videos that features about 4,000 horizontal pixels. This means it has nearly four times better resolution of the traditional high definition TV format.

China Unicom established a 4K industrial alliance on March 23 in Jinan, Shandong province, with a number of 4K equipment manufacturers, and service and content providers.

Wei Xiuchang, head of the marketing department at China Unicom, said the company will provide an "extreme experience" for users through new efforts in network access, services, content, platforms and standards. The company will complete an access upgrade, using fiber optic technology to replace old-fashioned connections.

Based on fiber-optic communication, China Unicom started its latest home internet service strategy in March 2015, featuring packages of 4G internet access and 4K TV service.

The company also provides more than 100,000 hours of video content, 50,000 music tracks and 1,400 games for its users. In the 10 months following the launch, the packages attracted 12 million household clients and 21 million smartphone users.

In addition, China Unicom's value-added service operation center was founded last year in partnership with domestic technology giant Huawei Technologies Co Ltd to manage both content and partners.

A 4K lab was also founded to form industry standards and regulations for products, service, network, terminals and testing.

Meanwhile, China Mobile Communications Corp also partnered with various service providers and equipment manufacturers, including Huawei and ZTE Corp, to unveil new and improved 4K services. "4K TV requires coordination of TV sets, set-top boxes, networks and content," said Zhang Xuan, general manager of China Mobile's Shandong branch. "With the commercialization of 4K TV service, and industrial innovation and cooperation, the platforms, content, terminals and applications in the industry chain will develop together," said Zhang.

In 2014, the China Mobile Shandong branch launched a new TV service that integrates live broadcasts, TV program repeats and on-demand video. It offers more than 100 TV channels along with more than 300,000 hours of authorized video content, including movies, TV dramas and animation. Also, 4K videos are increasingly featured on the platform.

The China Mobile Shandong branch offers various fee solutions, so its users can integrate their 4K fee with those from other services.

Zhang added that the company's fiber optics project from 2013 onwards will meet the requirements for network access.

(China Daily 11/25/2016 page3)