China Unicom eyes close collaboration with other MNOs to cut the cost of 5G

China Unicom is currently looking at the possibility of entering into network sharing agreements with China Mobile and China Telecom to expedite its 5G rollout plans and dramatically reduce costs.

China Unicom's chairman and chief executive, Wang Xiaochu, told journalists from Caixin Global that the company was exploring the possibility of partnering with at least one other operator in the run up to next year's 5G launch.  

“China Unicom will definitely work with one or more companies,” Wang said when discussing the company’s latest financial report.

All three of China's mobile network operators are planning to launch 5G on a truly monumental scale during the first quarter of 2020. The scope and scale of China's 5G deployment is set to be the largest in the world, as China looks to bring next generation mobile network services to 1.4 billion people.

It is estimated that between them, China's big three mobile network operators will deploy close to a million 5G base station units across the country, during the first 18 months of the rollout.

In addition to China's big three operators, the China Broadcast Network Corporation was also granted a 5G commercial license to deploy 5G services, by the Chinese authorities.

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