China’s carriers dig deep for world-beating 5G

HONG KONG: China’s carriers are starting their long ascent to the 5G spending peak. Two of the country’s three largest mobile providers have indicated how much they will pay for the initial buildout of next generation technology this year, the first real hint of how they might approach a huge project being rolled out with a push from Beijing. Costs look manageable for now, but investors are not in the clear.

China Telecom and China Unicom, the two smaller players, said they plan to spend a combined 136 billion yuan ($20 billion), including 15 to 17 billion yuan on 5G specifically. China Mobile, the $228 billion goliath, expects non-5G spending to reach 150 billion yuan this year, though its initial releases skirted around the issue of what the high-speed tab might come to.