Local telecommunications operator Companhia de Telecomunicações de Macau SARL (CTM) said last Friday that its 4G mobile communication (LTE) network will be put in service in the coming two months, claiming its construction work for the construction of the network has been completed. The vice president of CTM’s Network Services, Declan Leong, said in a press briefing that the company’s 2G and 3G network transformation project, as well as 4G network construction were completed as planned, indicating that the 4G network will cover more than 98 per cent of the territory’s outdoor coverage as soon as the service is officially launched. According to CTM, its major shareholder – CITIC Telecom International – invested some HK$600 million (US$74.7 million) to construct the new 4G network which could simultaneously support both Frequency-Division Duplexing (FDD) and Time-Division Duplexing (TDD) modes. In fact, the parent company of the operator also said in its latest filing with the Hong Kong Stock Exchange last Friday that some HK$91.7 million had been incurred during the first half of the year as capital expenditure for the development of the LTE network in Macau. The commercial vice president of CTM, Ebel Chan, told reporters that the company is still in discussions with the Bureau of Telecommunications Regulation (DSRT) on 4G service charges, claiming that the company seeks to set such fees lower than the current 3G service charges. During the first six months of the year, CTM’s parent company CITIC posted a 10.2 per cent year-on-year increase in its profit attributable to equity shareholders, reaching HK$397.2 million. The company said in the Friday filing that the jump ‘was mainly due to the significant increase in mobile sales & services and enterprise solutions revenue, and the steady growth in the Group’s Internet business.’ In addition, the company’s turnover posted a 5.1 per cent increase to HK$4.35 billion, compared to the HK$4.14 billion of one year ago during the six months. In March, DSRT announced the grant of four 4G service licences to the city’s telecommunications operators; namely, China Telecom (Macau), Hutchison Telephone Macau, known as 3Macau, and SmarTone, in addition to CTM.
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