China Telecom Corporation Limited is a leading telecommunications company based in China. It was established as a separate entity from its parent company, China Telecommunications Corporation, following the liberalisation of the Chinese market. The company was incorporated on 10 September 2002 as a limited company, following the divestment of wireline telecommunications assets in Shanghai, Guangdong, Jiangsu, and Zhejiang from the parent company. The company's shares have been traded on the Stock Exchange of Hong Kong since 15 November 2002. The ownership of China Telecom is largely state-controlled, as it is one of the "red chip" listed companies of the state-owned China Telecommunications Corporation. Over the years, China Telecom has expanded its operations through the acquisition of numerous businesses and assets across various regions in China. The company has also formed a joint venture, China Tower, with fellow state-owned telecommunication companies China Mobile and China Unicom. China Tower, the largest telecommunications tower group by revenue, became a separate listed company in 2018.
Alias
China Telecommunications Corporation, China Telecom Corp., Ltd.
Country
China
Type
Network Operator
China Telecom logo

China Telecom 4G Network

To provide high speed data services 4G LTE TDD was launched over B40 (2300 MHz) and B41 (2500 MHz) in February 2014. In February 2015 China Telecom received additional 1800 MHz licences and permission to refarm existing 2100 MHz spectrum, subsequently launching B1 (2100 MHz) and B3 (1800 MHz) FDD LTE services.

In August 2015 the company launched its LTE-A "Tianyi 4G+" service providing up to 300 Mbps by 2C aggregating B1 with B3.

June 2016 saw China Telecom approved to deploy a B5 (850 MHz) FDD LTE network, and has subsequently enabled 3C aggregation allowing B5 to be attached to both B1 and B3 carriers. VoLTE was also enabled on the service, with a national deployment completed early 2017.

China Telecom claimed the world’s first FDD-TDD carrier aggregation demonstration with peak download speed of 260 Mbps achieved using 20 MHz of B3 (1800 MHz) and 20 MHz of B41 (2500 MHz). The company's B41 service was deactivated as part of China's 5G planning.

While the company began testing back in 2016, March 2017 saw the first commercial use of NB-IoT (LTE Cat-NB1), which China Telecom provides within its B5 (850 MHz) carrier. A full commercial launch and nationwide coverage was achieved mid 2018.

4G Frequency Bands
Network Frequency Band Max. Channel Bandwidth Status
B1 (2100 MHz)
15
Active
B3 (1800 MHz)
20
Active
B5 (850 MHz)
10
Active
B40 (2300 MHz)
20
Active
B41 (2500 MHz)
20
Shut Down
Date Event Subtype
Launch of 4G Network
Launch

China Telecom 5G Network

Throughout late 2017 China Telecom conducted 5G pilot programs in six cities, including Shenzhen, Shanghai, Suzhou, Chengdu and Lanzhou, with six to eight stations in each city primarily operating over the 3.5 GHz band. In December 2018 China Telecom received 5G test frequencies totalling 100 MHz bandwidth from 3400 MHz to 3500 MHz.

China Unicom and China Telecom agreed to share the construction of base stations in 24 cities, as per an agreement signed on 9 September. China Telecom announced plans to build 40,000 5G base stations by the end of the year. China Telecom launched 5G services on the 1st November 2019 over the n78 (3500 MHz) band.

In August 2023 the company refarmed its legacy CDMA2000 spectrum to launch 800 MHz low band 5G.

Network Frequency Band Max. Channel Bandwidth Status
n5 (850 MHz)
10
Active
n78 (3500 MHz)
100
Active
Date Event Subtype
Launch of 5G Network
Launch