MWC 2016: LG G5 & Friends win 33 awards.

LG Electronics amassed a total of 33 awards at Mobile World Congress (MWC) 2016 including the event’s top honor, Best Mobile Handsets & Devices Award, securing status as the most honored company at the show. The wins highlighted the Modular Type innovation behind LG’s latest flagship smartphone, the LG G5 and Friends, demonstrating that the company is at the forefront of mobile communications. LG G5 and Friends earned top honors from Android Authority, Digital Trends, Trusted Reviews and Ubergizmo, among others.

“The initial response to our new LG G5 has been phenomenal and rewards the effort our experts have made to create something genuinely innovative and unique in the smartphone space,” said Juno Cho, president and CEO of LG Electronics Mobile Communications Company. “The G5 and its Friends modules are aimed at giving consumers a more playful smartphone experience and these awards suggest that we have offered something truly different in the market.”

LG unveiled the G5 to a 2,000 strong crowd prior to the main MWC event to high acclaim. The flagship smartphone is a brand new design with a sleek, metal uni-body featuring a Slide-out Battery and a Modular Type design that gives a greater smartphone experience. Complete with LG Friends, a collection of companion devices, the G5 can be transformed into a digital camera, Hi-Fi player and more.

With an estimated 100,000 attendees, MWC 2016 is the mobile industry’s keynote event. Awards won by LG at MWC 2016 include:

GSM Association (GSMA)

Best Mobile Handsets & Devices – LG G5

4gnews

Major Revelação – LG G5

Alphr

Best Smartphone – LG G5

Android Authority

Best of MWC 2016 – LG G5 / LG Friends

Android Central

MWC Top Pick – LG G5 / LG Rolling Bot / LG 360 VR

Android Pit

Best Innovation – LG G5

BGR

MWC 2016 Winner – LG G5 / LG Rolling Bot

Chip Chick

Most Innovative – Rolling Bot

Digital Trends

Top Tech of 2016 Winner – LG G5

Top Tech of 2016 Audio – LG Hi-Fi Plus

Expert Reviews

Best of Innovation – LG G5

Best Smartphone – LG G5

Know Your Mobile

Best of Innovation – LG G5

Best Smartphone – LG G5

Men’s Health

Editor’s Choice – LG G5

MobileGeeks

Best Smartphone – LG G5

Most Innovative Company – LG Electronics

Slashgear

Best Smartphone – LG G5

Best Accessory – LG Rolling Bot

Techradar

Best in Show – LG G5 & Rolling Bot

Best Phone – LG G5

Best Wearable – LG 360 VR

Techspot

Best of MWC – LG G5

Tom’s Guide

Best of MWC – LG G5

Tom’s Hardware

Best of MWC – LG G5

Trusted Reviews

Best of MWC 2016 – LG G5 / Rolling Bot

Ubergizmo

Best of MWC – LG G5 / LG Friends

MWC 2016: Actility and MultiTech Announce Complete End-to-End Solution For Rapidly Expanding LoRa™ Ecosystem.

MultiTech’s MultiConnect® Conduit™ Now Fully Pre-Configured for Actility’s ThingPark Platform.

Actility, the industry leader in Low Power Wide Area Networks (LPWAN) and Multi-Tech System, Inc., a leading global manufacturer of M2M and IoT devices, today announced that MultiTech’s leading LoRaWAN™  gateway, the MultiConnect® Conduit™, is now fully pre-configured for Actility’s ThingPark Platform.

MultiTech’s MultiConnect Conduit is a configurable and manageable communications gateway for industrial IoT applications. It can easily be adapted to any data management platform. The gateway is pre-configured at build time by MultiTech to work with Actility’s ThingPark Wireless platform out-of-the-box, bringing flexibility to set up custom LoRaWAN coverage on any location. The Gateway is available both on ETSI EU 868 MHz and US FCC 915 MHz spectrum.

By joining forces, Actility and MultiTech deliver an end-to-end solution to the fast growing LoRa ecosystem, opening a wide range of opportunities for innovative SmartCity and SmartBuilding applications. MultiTech macro-cell Conduit gateways are a small footprint IP67 certified enclosure simplifying roof top or cell mast installations often exposed to rain and extreme temperature. A compact and easy to install indoor version of the Conduit gateway is also available which can significantly extend network coverage in industrial facilities simply and easily without any disruption.

The new ThingPark Certified Conduit™ gateway will be commercially available as part of Actility’s end-to-end ThingPark Wireless network offering. Additionally, it will be available on the ThingPark Marketplace, Actility’s ecosystem solution hub enabling IoT devices, applications and network providers to simplify the creation, integration, distribution and activation of multiple IoT services to serve a large variety of market requirements.

“Establishing this partnership with MultiTech is of great interest for our customers as the MultiTech MultiConnect Conduit delivers best in class quality of service in a very compact format,” said Olivier Hersent, CEO & CTO at Actility. “It is an ideal solution for indoor, campus or enterprise deployments.”

“MultiTech trusts Actility to provide network operators everything they need to deploy nation-wide, public, LoRa networks,” said Daniel Quant, ‎Vice President, Product Management and Strategic Marketing at MultiTech. “We are committed to providing operators “carrier grade” products that are robust, high-quality and designed for long life in harsh environments.”

Mobile World Congress

Actility and MultiTech will showcase their newest collaboration and the benefits at Mobile World Congress (Feb. 22-25) in Barcelona within Actility’s booth (8.0E40).

About Actility:

Actility is an industry leader in LPWA (Low Power Wide Area) IoT infrastructure and Smart Grid applications. Actility ThingPark™ is a complete IoT solution, combining LPWA networking, an IoT data management platform, and an extensive ecosystem of fully interoperable devices and applications. ThingPark is a carrier-grade IoT platform that enables service providers to accelerate their IoT strategy and go-to-market. ThingPark Wireless delivers long-range networks for low-power sensors and devices used in multiple industries, smart-cities, agriculture, and connected living. ThingPark Cloud provides IoT protocol and data management services that enable web applications to connect seamlessly with data from a vast range of different sensors. ThingPark Store & Marketplace is at the heart of an ecosystem of certified IoT devices and application partners, and fully automates the creation and activation of end-to-end IoT offers across multiple sales channels. Actility is a founding member of the LoRa™ Alliance. http://www.thingpark.com/en

About MultiTech

MultiTech designs, develops and manufactures communications equipment for the industrial internet of things – connecting physical assets to business processes to deliver enhanced value. Our commitment to quality and service excellence means you can count on MultiTech products and people to address your needs, while our history of innovation ensures you can stay ahead of the latest technology with a partner who will be there for the life of your solution. For more information, please visit www.multitech.com.

Contacts:

Anne van Gemert for Actility

anne.vangemert@actility.com

+33 6 47 37 30 21

Jennifer Costello for MultiTech

781-715-4870

Email: jennifer@mgresults.com

MWC 2016: Actility Collaborates with Cisco to Deliver IoT Solutions Using LoRa Technology.

Actility's ThingPark™ platform will be integrated in Cisco IoT solutions 

Actility, the industry leader in Low Power Wide Area (LPWA) networks announced that it is collaborating with Cisco to help customers embrace digital transformation and accelerate the development of new business models based on the Internet of Things (IoT). Actility will today join the Cisco Partner Ecosystem as a Cisco Solutions+ Partner for LPWAsolutions for IoT. The collaboration will allow global service providers and other vertical industries to create added value far beyond simple connectivity, in both business markets such as smart cities, connected factories and industrial IoT, and high volume business to consumer applications.  

     The combined offering of Cisco IoT solutions and Actility's ThingPark Wireless™ Platform also addresses therequirements of private managed LoRa (Low Power, Long Range) wide area networks and can be deployed in a customer's premises or offered as a Software as a Service model (SaaS). 

The announcement also brings Cisconetworking expertise and the latest LoRa gateway technology to the rapidly growing Actility ThingPark ecosystem, which simplifies the deployment of end-to-end IoT solutions for customers.

Actility's ThingPark provides long-range network connectivity for low-power sensors used in multiple applications such as smart cities, facility management and asset tracking. The Cisco IoT gateways and Cisco Field Network Director tools provide the vital link between the LoRa radio connections to sensors and devices, and the global Internet or private customer network. 

Actility's ThingPark OSS helps ensure that it is straightforward for customers to configure and deploy IoT networks and solutions by validating all the components of an end-to-end solution, from sensors and devices through network connectivity and applications. Now ThingPark customers have access to Cisco IoT solutions with world-leading networking technology that is ready to use and deploy in their Actility-powered service solutions.

"We're very proud to be able to collaborate with a storied industry leader like Cisco to bring new value to the ThingPark ecosystem," comments Actility CTO and CEO Olivier Hersent. "With the Cisco IoT gateway we are ready for multi-sector deployments and location services where sensors can be localized without a GPS! Now operators have no need to wait for LTE-based IoT solutions: they can address the massive opportunities in the rapidly growing IoT market today."

This partnership will enable LPWA (Low Power Wide Area) networks to be expanded rapidly on a global scale, fueling the explosive growth of the next generation of IoT services. Cisco and Actility's relationships with major tier one telecom operators will accelerate the go to market and widespread deployment of the joint solution.

Vikas Butaney, general manager, IoT Connectivity Business Unit at Cisco, said: "I welcome Actility to the Cisco partner community for our IoT solutions to help accelerate digital transformation across industries. Our collaboration with Actility will enable us to offer a complete LoRA LPWA-based solution to our customers and partners, and opens up IoT to an untapped market of billions of battery-powered devices. LoRa's ability to communicate elegantly without draining excessive power makes it suitable for deploying connected devices in the field that can provide actionable business insights over an extended lifetime."

Actility and Cisco are both members of the LoRa Alliance, a non-profit organization which aims to drive the global success of the LoRa protocol (LoRaWAN) by sharing knowledge and experience to help ensure interoperability between operators in one open global standard. Cisco's collaboration with Actility and induction into the ThingPark ecosystem clearly demonstrates the effectiveness of the LoRa Alliance in nurturing business relationships that will drive the rapid growth of the Internet of things globally.

About Actility 

Full version of the release

http://www.thingpark.com/en

SOURCE Actility

For further information: Actility: Anne van Gemert, anne.vangemert@actility.com, +33-6-47-37-30-21. Cisco: Marc Musgrove, mmusgrov@cisco.com, +1-(408)525-6320.

MWC 2016: Powermat’s mobile engagement platform designed to drive repeat business.

Businesses use market-leading wireless charging technology to engage customers across multiple touch points.

Powermat Technologies today announced its market-leading wireless charging platform can help businesses of all sizes improve customer engagement and increase sales by providing them with the personalized marketing tools necessary to drive repeat business.  

Cloud connected charging spots make Powermat truly unique in the industry, as it's currently the only wireless charging platform on the market to offer businesses the opportunity to engage with customers across multiple touch points—before they’re in the store, while they’re in it, and after.

"Customers have deep connections with their phones, and an expectation of instant communication or immediate access to information has created a real fear of running out of battery," said Thorsten Heins, Chief Executive Officer of Powermat Technologies. 

"Powermat's mobile engagement solution alleviates this fear by offering a phone charging service that not only provides customers with power, but also provides businesses with the ability to attract, engage and service customers in a much more meaningful way."

Helping businesses become optimized for mobile, Powermat's engagement platform is a marketing tool through which businesses can send customized offers, tailored content and special rewards to customers in order to generate repeat business and increased revenue. Best of all, brick-and-mortar businesses can better understand their customers.

Once customers download the Powermat Mobile App, required to enable charging at participating  Powermat locations, businesses can use customizable, geo-targeted push-notifications to send information to a customer on-site, or to share offers and content when a customer is nearby. 

When customers lay their smartphone on a Powermat Charging Spot, businesses can then send them contextual messages such as special offers, surveys and in-store deals that help generate customer loyalty and even drive a second purchase.  Finally, businesses can bring customers back in store by running gratitude campaigns that, through push notifications, entice customers with loyalty points, rewards and other exciting promotions.   

Since Powermat’s mobile engagement platform is built on a cloud infrastructure with portals for each client, venues can also easily customize offers to match their customers’ specific needs. Businesses have the tools to analyze users of the service and marketing metrics. Additionally, venues can build campaign calendars and time their campaigns to a specific time of day and/or location, depending on peak periods at their store and/or the type of customer they’re trying to attract.

“E-commerce retailers have a rich knowledge of consumer preferences and buying habits due to the digital nature of their business, but traditional brick and mortar operators need and want help catching up,” said Carlo Chiarello, Chief Product Officer of Powermat Technologies. “Our engagement platform gives businesses the -customizable marketing tools they need to learn more about their customers and serve them better.”

Powermat technology helps businesses drive reoccurring revenue, and generate a solid return on investment on any wireless charging installation. In a recent online consumer survey conducted by Powermat, 4 out of 5 respondents said they’d frequent a venue with wireless charging at least once more per week. In addition, 86 percent said they’d spend more time at a store, and 56 percent said they’d spend more money while there.

As pioneers in the wireless charging industry, Powermat has attained a great deal of mass market installation experience over the past decade. Whether a business owner is opening a new location or retrofitting a store, Powermat has created a scalable process that’s seamless, and extremely efficient with almost no impact on daily operations.

Business owners considering wireless charging solutions should contact us at: https://www.powermat.com/contact/

Images and press material can be downloaded from: http://mwc.vporoom.com/Powermat 

-30-

About Powermat Technologies

Our vision is to help create a world where people never again need worry about running out of power. By equipping venues with a wireless charging infrastructure, Powermat’s platform allows businesses to increase relevant engagement with customers sending contextual information, alerts, offers and promotions through the Powermat app before, during and after on-site consumer interactions. Together with more than 100 partners, we are building a global wireless power ecosystem. A pioneer in cloud connected wireless charging infrastructure, we utilize existing principles of magnetic inductivity to wirelessly transfer electricity in a safe and effective manner. As founding members of the Power Matters Alliance (now AirFuel Alliance) we are dedicated to creating an industry standard for smart, environmental and accessible wireless power. Everyone should live life at 100%. For more information please visit www.powermat.com.

MEDIA CONTACT:

Amy McDowell

Amy.McDowell@powermat.com

M: 519-500-2925

MWC 2016: Avnet Memec,Silica and Morpho partner for the commercial deployment of flexible connectivity for IoT.

Morpho (Safran), a global leader in identity and security solutions, and Avnet Memec - Silica, an Avnet, Inc. company (NYSE: AVT), today announced their partnership for the commercial deployment of flexible connectivity services for Internet of Things (IoT) applications, including embedded SIM and remote SIM provisioning solutions.

The partnership with Morpho enables Avnet Memec - Silica, one of the leading distributors of electronic components in Europe, to offer flexible connectivity services for its electronic components by integrating the MorphoFlex™ modular eSIM (also known as eUICC) and remote SIM provisioning capability into their overall IoT service offering and the recently launched reference platform “Visible ThingsTM”.

Fully compliant with the latest GSMA V3.0 Machine-to-Machine (M2M) remote SIM provisioning specifications, the MorphoFlex™ portfolio commercially deployed by Avnet Memec - Silica includes eSIMs in multiple form factors, providing mobile network operators with agnostic connectivity and supporting the SIMalliance interoperability profile. Additionally, MorphoFlex™ remote SIM provisioning enables flexible connectivity throughout the entire lifecycle of the device.

Following the recently announced adoption of the eSIM by the automotive industry, Avnet Memec - Silica and Morpho are now making a similar eSIM solution available for the industrial IoT.

The joint solution enables the optimization of logistics, leading to a significant reduction in stock keeping units, as it is no longer necessary to build and ship multiple variants of the same solution to address different country connectivity requirements.

Yves Portalier, Vice President and General Manager, Telecom Business Unit at Morpho, pointed out the benefits of the joint solution: “The partnership with Avnet Memec – Silica creates an ideal platform to leverage the extensive possibilities of flexible connectivity services for future-oriented IoT applications. Managing connectivity on as needed basis decisively enables service providers to optimize coverage, costs and capability.”

Philippe Fremont, VP of Technical Marketing EMEA with Avnet Memec - Silica comments: “When it comes to the SIM card, our M2M and IoT customers will always be asking for more flexibility and openness in the way they choose their telecom operator and upgrade their products in the field. We believe that the eSIM is the right answer and that associating with Morpho and major M2M telecom operators for our eSIM program will help us empower our customers to bridge gaps between communication, services and IoT future needs.”

The integrated Avnet Memec - Silica and Morpho solution will be demonstrated at the GSMA Mobile World Congress in Barcelona and at Embedded World in Nuremberg, and is commercially available now.

About Morpho

Morpho (Safran) is a global leader in identity and security solutions for an increasingly digital and connected world. We employ more than 8,600 people in 55 countries and generated revenues of more than €1.5 billion in 2014. Backed by more than 40 years of experience in biometrics, our unique expertise lies in developing innovative technologies for a wide range of markets and applications for people, governments and business. Morpho contributes to managing identities, protecting borders, detecting threats, supporting law enforcement and providing trusted on-line transactions and services. Our solutions protect identities, ensure safety and safeguard privacy, for easier everyday lives.

For more information: www.morpho.com        Follow @Safran_MORPHO on Twitter

About Avnet Memec - Silica

Avnet Memec - Silica is the European semiconductor specialist of Avnet, Inc., one of the leading global distributors. Customers may expect state-of-the-art technologies, comprehensive technical support and advanced supply chain and logistics services. Avnet Memec - Silica is a partner of leading semiconductor manufactures and innovative solution providers over many years. With a team of more than 200 application engineers and technical specialists, Avnet Memec - Silica supports projects all the way from the idea to the concept to production.

For more information: www.avnetmemec-silica.com

For further information: Morpho, Pierre-Yves Roger, Phone: +33 15811 8958, pierre-yves.roger@morpho.com, www.morpho.com

MWC 2016: GTI 2.0 Launched, Continue TD-LTE Development and Promote 5G Industrialization and Innovation.

With the support and guidance of 5 Chairman/CEO from top operators, Sunil Bharti Mittal (founder and chairman of Bharti Enterprises), Mr. Shang Bing (chairman of China Mobile), Mr. Masayoshi Son (chairman & CEO of SoftBank Group Corp), Mr. Chang-Gyu Hwang (chairman and CEO of KT) and Mr.Vittorio Colao (CEO of Vodafone Group Plc), GTI 2.0 was officially launched during the GTI summit 2016 held on Feb. 23rd at the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona.

With a new 5-year strategic plan and mission, GTI 2.0 aims to continue to promote the global development of TD-LTE (delivering LTE by creating a time delay between the uplink and downlink signals), encouraging convergence with FDD (frequency division duplex, which requires two channels), and to foster a cross-industry innovative and a synergistic 5G ecosystem.

Founded in 2011, GTI has been dedicated to constructing a robust ecosystem of TD-LTE, speeding up the commercialization of TD-LTE and promoting the convergence of LTE TDD and FDD. Today, GTI has become an influential cooperation platform with 122 operator members and 103 industrial partners, and has completed the GTI 1.0 mission by building an end-to-end TD-LTE ecosystem and achieving global commercialization of TD-LTE and converged LTE TDD/FDD. By the end of Dec. 2015, there were 76 TD-LTE commercial networks in 43 countries, and 91 TD-LTE networks in progress, with a total of 1.4 million TD-LTE base stations serving 470 million subscribers globally.

With the success in making TD-LTE a global standard and the convergence of TDD/FDD, GTI 2.0 will continue to help the whole industry benefit from the evolution of TD-LTE, TDD/FDD converged networks and global smartphones, and promote a unified 5G standard and mature end-to-end ecosystem, as well as explore cross-industry markets and opportunities. GTI will continue its good cooperation with industry partners and international organizations.

Sunil Bharti Mittal, Chairman of Bharti Airtel, said, "Bharti Airtel is delighted to be a part of GTI 2.0. We have led the roll-out of TD-LTE in India and are confident that it will emerge as the preferred standard for evolving mobile technologies. We look forward to collaborating with the consortium partners towards developing technology ecosystem for the future and help build a digitally inclusive world."   

Shang Bing, Chairman of China Mobile said, "China Mobile will fully support GTI 2.0 objectives. We will work closely with GTI partners to further promote TD-LTE evolution, global deployment and propel 5G development and joint innovation to embrace the new era of 'Everything Connected'."

Masayoshi Son, Chairman of Softbank Group said "Since 2011, GTI has made great achievements through its 5 years' effort. TD-LTE has become a global standard that so huge number of people are using. Today, I also expect GTI 2.0 continues to promote the evolution of technology to meet the requirements of 1 million times growth of mobile data traffic in next 30 years. In specific, I believe Band 41 HP UE will benefit both operator and customer, which I really want GTI 2.0 to make it happen as soon as possible."

Chang-Gyu Hwang, Chief Executive Officer of KT, said "KT anticipate crucial role of GTI 2.0 in various areas, especially early expansion of 5G and related vertical industry. As member of GTI 2.0, KT will cooperate with other GTI 2.0 members on various business areas and make meaningful contribution in GTI 2.0."

Vittorio Colao, Chief Executive Officer of Vodafone Group, said: "It is important for the industry to continue developing 4G and to work together to develop the standards for 5G technology ahead of its expected commercial introduction from 2020 onwards. GTI 2.0 will provide Vodafone with a useful forum to work closely with a number of major operators towards that goal." 

SOURCE China Mobile

For further information: Sean Lee, Press and Public Relations, China Mobile Research Institute, No. 32 Xuanwumen West Street, Xicheng District, Beijing, China, +86 10-52686688 ext.33492, lixiaoyj@chinamobile.com ; anderson100928@sina.com

MWC 2016: Agora.io Cloud Powers Xiaomi Mi Video Call.

Mi Video Call Allows Android and iOS Users to Talk and See Each Other Across the World for Free

Agora.io, a communications as a service provider optimizing global quality of experience for real-time voice and video communications, today announced that Xiaomi selected Agora.io real-time cloud technology to power Mi Video Call. Xiaomi announced today Mi Video Call as part of the global launch of the Mi 5 smartphone in Beijing and at the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona. 

Mi Video Call for Android and iOS provides free, high quality group video calling for up to four people with camera "beautify" effects and text and voice messaging. Mi Video Call will be pre-installed into the Xiaomi MIUI Android-based user interface for their customers to use directly.

"In the mobile Internet space, real-time voice and video chat is a complex technology and it is difficult to ensure high quality around the world," said Wang Qi, Senior Deputy General Manager, Xiaomi E&M. He added, "We selected Agora.io as our global real-time video call technology partner because we believe the Agora.io global virtual network, and their unique mobile-based algorithms, can truly bring high quality video chat experiences to Xiaomi users everywhere."

Tony Zhao, Founder and CEO of Agora.io, said, "We are honored that our cloud network has been selected by Xiaomi for Mi Video Call. Agora.io and Xiaomi both share a user-centric, mobile Internet vision where everyone in the world can communicate with high quality voice and video, now easily accessible to hundreds of millions of Xiaomi fans all over the world."

The Agora.io cloud network and SDKs allows Xiaomi to easily embed high quality video into their mobile applications without upfront investment, especially across challenging global network conditions. The Agora Global Network, spanning over 70 data centers worldwide, automatically manages real-time performance for all video and voice sessions and dynamically routes real-time traffic around Internet bottlenecks to ensure premium quality of experience.

About Xiaomi

Xiaomi was founded in 2010 by serial entrepreneur Lei Jun, who believes that high-quality technology doesn't need to cost a fortune. Xiaomi creates remarkable hardware, software, and Internet services for and with the help of its Mi fans. Xiaomi incorporates their feedback into its product range, which currently includes the Mi Note Pro, Mi Note, Mi 4, Redmi 3, Mi TV, Mi Band and other accessories. With more than 70 million handsets sold in 2015, and products launched in Taiwan,Hong Kong, Singapore, Malaysia, Philippines, India, Indonesia and Brazil, Xiaomi is expanding its footprint across the world to become a global brand.

About Agora.io

Privately held and founded in 2014, Agora.io is a communications as a service (CaaS) provider delivering premium quality-of-experience voice and video communications across devices and networks globally. Agora.io enables software applications to support as many as 2,000 users in a single conference. Agora.io customers provide HD real-time voice and video communication services to organizations in the following industries: financial services, education, telemedicine, human resources, customer service, social media applications, and mobile gaming. Headquartered in Santa Clara, California, Agora.io is backed by venture capital firms Morningside, SIG, GGV Capital, ShunWei, and IDG. For more information visit www.agora.io.

PR Contacts

Jenkin Xia

Agora.io PR

Telephone: +1 614 401 7323

Email: jenkin.xia@agora.io

Chris Greenfield

Project PR for Agora.io

Telephone: +1 650 906 2915

Email: chris@projectpr.com

MWC 2016: China Mobile Draws Up a New Blueprint for the Migration from 4G to 5G.

China Mobile launched its 5G Joint Innovation Center project at the GTI Summit 2016, which was held during the World Mobile Congress (WMC) in Barcelona, Spain on Feb. 23, 2016. The world's largest telecom company also announced its business targets of reaching 1.40 million TD-LTE base stations, selling 330 million 4G devices and expanding the 4G subscriber base to over 500 million by the end of 2016.   

According to Mr. Shang Bing, Chairman of China Mobile, the company has deployed 1.10 million TD-LTE base stations as of the end of 2015, covering over 1.2 billion population and has achieved 4G roaming with 114 countries and regions; China Mobile sold 300 million TD-LTE devices in 2015, indicating the addition of more than 400 TD-LTE users every minute; China Mobile's 4G subscriber base reached 340 million, accounting for about 30% of global number. Moreover, China Mobile has completed the deployment of carrier aggregation (CA) in over 300 cities and has commercialized VoLTE services in 100 cities. 

Speaking of the goal for next year, Shang Bing said that China Mobile will speed up 4G deployment by increasing the number of TD-LTE base stations to 1.40 million and deploy CA technologies in central and hot-spot areas of all cities by the end of 2016; to commercialize VoLTE services in over 260 cities in the first half of 2016; to commercialize the Rich Communication Service (RCS) in the second half of the year; to accelerate the uptake of VoLTE/CA-enabled devices, sell 330 million 4G devices and expand the 4G user base to over 500 million in 2016.     

China Mobile supports GTI in driving the global deployment of TD-LTE and the converged development of FDD/TDD and will actively promote roaming of 4G and VoLTE. It will develop dedicated networks for the Internet of Things and aims to develop 100 million IoT connections in 2016. Moreover, Shang Bing pointed out that the company expects to increase the maturity of narrow-band IoT (NB-IOT) and strives to commercialize it in 2017.

Mr. Li Zhengmao, Vice President of China Mobile, together with the representatives of the first 11 partners, jointly launched the China Mobile 5G Joint Innovation Center at the summit. 

The Center aims to conduct joint innovation on applications and products with industry partners in such areas as basic communications, IoT, telematics, industrial Internet, cloud robotics and virtual/augmented reality, through open labs, and thus build an integrated cross-industry ecosystem and achieve win-win cooperation in the process of migrating from 4G to 5G. Early partners include Huawei, ZTE, Ericsson, Nokia, Qualcomm, Datang, Intel, Keysight, Beijing Shougang Automation Information Technology Co., Ltd., Haier, and Hisense.

China Mobile also introduced cost-effective VoLTE/CA devices and chip solutions during the summit, including its self-branded VoLTE/CA devices such as A1s, A2 and N2. Together with Samsung, China Mobile introduced 5 new customized VoLTE devices; in partnership with Qualcomm and MTK, China Mobile launched VoLTE+ down-link and up-link CA chip solutions at the price point of $100; jointly with Spreadtrum and Leadcore, China Mobile released VoLTE chip solutions at the price point of $50.

The summit marks the 5^th anniversary of GTI.  Over 700 representatives from the ITU, the Chinese government, GSMA, China Mobile, India's Bharti,Japan's Softbank, Korea's KT participated to share their views and insights on such topics as the converged development of TD-LTE and TDD/FDD across the world, TD-LTE evolution, trends of 3.5GHz industry, 5G strategies and visions, and cross-industry applications. Having released the next five-year strategic plan, GTI is committed to promoting the commercialization of TD-LTE on a wider scale in the world and the deeper integration between TD-LTE and FDD, enabling TDD technology to play a more important role in the 5G era, and building up an eco-system for win-win cross-industry cooperation.

SOURCE China Mobile Limited

For further information: Sean Lee, Press and Public Relations, China Mobile Research Institute, +86-10-52686688 ext.33492, lixiaoyj@chinamobile.comor anderson100928@sina.com