China Unicom plans to launch its TD-LTE services on 18 March, according to a Shanghai Daily report — making it the final operator to offer 4G services in the country.

China’s number-two player will initially launch its services in 25 cities, with 100 cities expected to be covered by the end of 2014.

China Unicom also plans to launch the FDD version of LTE after licences for the more globally-popular 4G standard have been allocated.

Lu Yimin, China Unicom’s general manager, said the company’s 4G investment will reach CNY10 billion ($1.63 billion) in 2014.

TD-LTE licences were issued to China’s three operators in December by the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology. The government said in December it would release FDD-LTE licences soon, but gave no further details.

The same publication reported that China Telecom planned to launch its LTE services in 100 cities in the middle of February. At the time of the report, the company only offered 4G-enabled data cards and wireless routers.

China Mobile was the first to launch LTE in its home market and has a range of 4G-capable smartphones available, including the iPhone 5S.

China Telecom and China Mobile are reported to be offering similar packages for their 4G services.

It is thought China Mobile will focus on TD-LTE due to the relative compatibility of the technology with its TD-SCDMA 3G network, while its rivals will take the less efficient approach of offering both types of 4G technology.