Zong partners with Xiaomi in Pakistan
China Mobile Pakistan is partnering with device maker Xiaomi to launch the Chinese vendor’s line of products in Pakistan.

China Mobile Pakistan, which operates under the Zong brand, is the largest 4G player in the country and one of only two operators to offer 4G services.

Under the agreement, Zong will market Xiaomi’s smartphones, virtual reality headsets and other accessories at its retail outlets. In addition, Zong is also offering special data rates for customers purchasing Xiaomi handset, the Pakistan Observer said.

The operator recently announced plans to invest $200 million to expand its 3G and 4G networks. It rolled out an additional 1,000 4G base stations in 2016 to take its overall LTE tally to about 6,000 sites, with 4G coverage reaching more than 300 cities.

Docomo, NEC complete massive MIMO trials
Japan’s largest mobile operator NTT Docomo and equipment vendor NEC said they completed joint verification trials of massive MIMO technology.

The trials, conducted in central Tokyo and the Kanagawa Prefecture, used NEC’s massive-element active antenna system (AAS) supporting low-SHF (super high frequency) bands to achieve spectral efficiency eight times higher than LTE.

Massive MIMO is a core technology for 5G base stations. Low-SHF refers to radio waves at frequencies of 3GHz to 6GHz.

Among the high-frequency bands, NEC is working to put the low-SHF band into practical use, since it is expected to enter into commercial use around 2020, said Nozomu Watanabe, NEC’s GM of the mobile radio access network division. “We will capitalise on the results of these trials as we continue to work together with NTT Docomo and other communication carriers, aiming at the practical application of 5G.”

HKBN expands 4G bundled offers
ISP Hong Kong Broadband Network (HKBN), which has an MVNO agreement with China Mobile, launched expanded 4G bundled plans.

HKBN’s three-in-one bundled package offer 3GB of mobile data, access to the mobile video app myTV Super and home telephone service for HKD90 ($11.60) per month. Customers porting their mobile numbers over to HKBN will receive 2GB of additional data, taking the total to 5GB.

Customers can add fibre service to make it a four-in-one bundled package, with prices starting at HKD266 per month.