China’s state-owned carrier China Mobile has officially launched commercial 5G services in Hong Kong on Wednesday, according to the company’s announcement.
The initial phase of the 5G service will cover most of the region, with hotspots at public places including landmarks, business centers, and shopping malls, according to China Mobile.
The telcom will also enable 5G roaming services in Chinese mainland and South Korea to its customers, and it expects to expand the roaming services to more countries and regions in Asia and Europe by the end of this year, said the carrier.
China Mobile’s 5G data packages are priced between HKD 198 (USD 25.5) per month, for a 30 GB quota, and HKD 498 per month, for 300 GB, according to its official website.
The carrier has built over 500 5G base stations in Hong Kong, covering more than 90% of the major areas including the Central and Western District, Wan Chai, and Causeway Bay.
The state-owned carrier is joined by two other telecom carriers, Hutchison Telecom and HKT, as the first batch of companies to launch commercial 5G services in Hong Kong.
Hutchison Telecom has rolled out 5G services via its mobile telecom arm 3 Hong Kong, with a starting monthly rate of HKD 388 for 100 GB of data allowance.
In contrast, HKT is charging HKD 398 for 80 GB of bandwidth via its CSL brand, with its 5G service covering major districts and key infrastructures such as Hong Kong International Airport, and major shopping malls in the initial phase of launch.
China has officially started to commercialize 5G networks in 50 cities since October 2019. All three of China’s state-owned carriers—China Mobile, China Unicom, and China Telecom—have rolled out 5G plans to its users, with the cheapest package priced at RMB 128 (USD 18) per month with a 30 GB quota.