— China Unicom & Huawei's Excursion into the Steppes of Inner Mongolia

SHENZHEN, China, Nov. 11, 2023 -- In Inner Mongolia, one of China's five autonomous regions, the prefecture-level city of Chifeng is renowned for its grassy plains that stretch on for miles and miles, winding rivers, and yurts dotting the grasslands. As idyllic as these rural environments can be, they are hardly isolated, for they have ample network access. Signal bars are always full wherever people live, farm animals can roam freely with GPS tags, and herdsmen can enjoy their nomadic lives while staying connected to the outside world.

Persistence Equals Excellence

In August, the picturesque national forest park in the area captured national attention thanks to the online performances of a Mongolian performing arts team. "Everything is just breathtaking. The performers. The scenery. The music. The costumes." The audiences were hugely impressed by what they saw during the livestreams. "We often live-stream like this, but our performances wouldn't be this smooth without the right network. We use China Unicom's SIM cards, and they give us more than enough traffic," said one performer who played the traditional Mongolian horsehead fiddle.

China Unicom Inner Mongolia has been widely recognized for its excellent network quality. Working with Huawei and other partners, it was bestowed the rare title of "Excellent Operator" as part of the 2022 national evaluation of mobile network quality in key locations.

Geographically located on China's northern frontier, Inner Mongolia stretches around 2,400 kilometers from east to west. Diverse landforms, a sparse population, and inadequate transportation all add to the complexity of building and maintaining communications networks in the region.

The deputy general manager explained that, in order to bring coverage to as many sparsely populated areas as possible, China Unicom deployed both macro and micro base stations that can work effectively on 900 MHz spectrum. The company also leveraged directional antennas to address signal attenuation in high-speed mobility scenarios, and attached great importance to network optimization.User experience is their top priority.

Remote, But Connected

"The plains are far away from the rest of the world, but the people are not. We can easily buy and sell things on our phones. China Unicom has changed our lives, and we're now connecting with the world," said the landlady of a family ranch.

China Unicom quickly brought extensive and fast coverage to rural areas by deploying low-band networks on 900 MHz. The operator has brought coverage to 98.5% of administrative villages, a figure that sat at just 53% in 2018.

Easy access to reliable networks has fundamentally changed the way people live in these villages. The landlady added that she can watch TV anytime, the kids can study and entertain themselves on the Internet, and mobile payments eliminate the fuss of carrying around cash. She's glad fewer locals are moving out and more and more people are coming to visit the area.

The landlady also shared her joy at no longer needing to chase after farm animals, because she can always see their whereabouts on her phone. Supported by the operator's far-reaching broadband network, herdsmen can add their animals to GPS systems, install high-definition cameras in pastoral areas, and deploy automatic drinking water systems for animals. The network does all the complex work, eliminating the need for a lot of repetitive human labor. Supported by 4G/5G and advanced information technologies, agriculture and animal husbandry in the region are heading towards more sustainable development.

China Unicom is committed to making production and life easier for residents here in areas that will truly have a meaningful impact, such as telemedicine, legal counseling, and online shopping.