China Unicom and Ericsson have launched China's first gigabit LTE broadcast commercial network, offering subscribers high-speed mobile broadband data.

Covering Hainan Island province, the new gigabit LTE network will provide China Unicom subscribers with high speed mobile video to enhance customer satisfaction and make full use of network resources to improve operator profitability.

As part of the launch passengers on the Hainan Island high-speed train were able to watch the launch ceremony through LTE broadcast technology and the gigabit wireless network. Commenting on the launch Hao Liqian, General Manager of the Hainan branch of China Unicom, said “This remarkable achievement will fulfill our strategy to offer the most advanced services to individuals and enterprises on the China Unicom network. Our launch ceremony today is important, innovative and fun, since we’re using Virtual Reality on a high-speed train over a high-speed network to prove the worthiness of this launch.”

Chris Houghton, Head of Market Area North East Asia, Ericsson, said: “We’re literally putting the network into the hands of the subscribers on day one. People will be able to immerse themselves in their video experience and not just understand, but feel, the difference with a gigabit LTE network while they are moving at very fast speeds.”

Ericsson claims its LTE broadcast solution will revolutionise video delivery in mobile networks by combining three new standards: eMBMS, HEVC (H.265) and MPEG DASH, to address the growing consumer demand for media services. To accelerate the development of China Unicom’s video strategy, Ericsson supported China Unicom with eMBMS in the high-speed train scenario so that passengers could enjoy high-definition video without buffering on the network.

Ericsson has already set up 1Gbps networks with China Unicom in Guangdong, Hainan, Shandong, and Beijing. With peak speeds of up to 979Mbps these can offer 13 second download times for a 1080P high-definition movie at optimum performance. There are on-going 1Gbps trials in Sichuan, Hubei, Shanxi, Jilin and Jiangsu province. More than 270 LTE RAN and Evolved Packet Core networks have been delivered by Ericsson worldwide, of which 200 are live commercially.