China Telecom launched 4G services in Macau earlier this week, just over eight months after winning its LTE licence.
The telco formally launched 4G on Tuesday, having built out a network with 95% outdoor coverage of the peninsula, the Macau Business Daily reported.
The terms of its licence require it to reach 100% coverage next year.
"This new service could attract more high-end consumers, and in that respect we’ll be observing how the plans can pull in more subscribers," the paper quoted Samuel Chan, assistant general manager of China Telecom Macau, as saying.
The telco hopes 4G will have a positive impact on its average revenue per user (ARPU), Chan said.
Rolling out 4G is proving an expensive business for China Telecom, in no small part due to the cost of leased lines in Macau, Chan explained.
China Telecom has leased fixed infrastructure from Companhia de Telecomunicações de Macau (CTM) and MTEL to support its 4G service, primarily from the former, Chan said.
"The government hoped to introduce competition to influence the leased line cost here, which has not yet hap pened," he told the paper. "We’re still quite pressured in terms of operating costs on top of the capital expenditure."
China Telecom plans to invest 471 million patacas (€56 million) in 4G for the 2015-2018 period.
