China Mobile built the world’s largest 4G network with 1.44 million 4G base stations, accounting for 34 per cent of the global total.

The move means the country’s three mobile operators are on track to have 3 million base stations by the end of the year.

China Mobile VP Li Zhengmao, speaking at the 4G to 5G-TDD Spectrum event in Bangkok, said its 4G network reaches 99.7 per cent of the population in China, C114.net reported.

The operator has 481 million 4G subscribers, which represents 31 per cent of the total worldwide. Its 4G penetration increased to 57 per cent in Q3. It also has rolled out VoLTE services in 313 cities.

With the joint efforts of China Mobile and its partners, Li said 2,398 models of mobile phones supporting TD-LTE are available, adding that more than 70 per cent are priced at about CNY1,000 ($150), the portal reported.

Number two China Unicom has built 700,000 4G base stations since February 2015, upgrading its entire network in 341 cities. The operator, which has lagged behind third ranked China Telecom in 4G growth, doubled its 4G user base to 89 million since the beginning of the year.

China Telecom aims to deploy 340,000 4G base stations this year, bringing its total to 850,000 sites at the end of the year. It had 107.5 million 4G subs in Q3, after nearly doubling its 4G user base since the beginning of the year.