????中國(guó)移動(dòng)（China Mobile）即將發(fā)布iPhone的消息鋪天蓋地，讓人喘不過(guò)氣來(lái)。誠(chéng)然，對(duì)于世界最大的運(yùn)營(yíng)商中國(guó)移動(dòng)和蘋(píng)果公司（Apple）而言，這絕對(duì)算得上是大新聞，可惜大家早就聽(tīng)膩了。近來(lái)對(duì)于中國(guó)移動(dòng)通信界真正的里程碑事件是——4G網(wǎng)絡(luò)牌照即將發(fā)布。

????其它國(guó)家的手機(jī)用戶對(duì)4G網(wǎng)絡(luò)已經(jīng)習(xí)以為常。我以前就是這其中的一員。紐約覆蓋上4G網(wǎng)絡(luò)之后，我發(fā)現(xiàn)智能手機(jī)的上網(wǎng)速度竟然比PC機(jī)要快了。我可以在iPhone上觀看Netflix視頻；谷歌地圖（Google Maps）的搜索速度堪稱實(shí)時(shí)；而下載一份報(bào)紙只需要幾秒鐘。

????但在中國(guó)，大行其道的仍是3G。我今年去北京時(shí)親身體會(huì)了一把從4G降級(jí)至3G后的速度。同樣的應(yīng)用程序仿佛變了個(gè)樣。谷歌地圖？反應(yīng)勉強(qiáng)能接受。蘋(píng)果報(bào)刊雜志應(yīng)用？速度相當(dāng)悲劇。至于雅虎（Yahoo）夢(mèng)幻足球游戲，就這速度還想排兵布陣？

????4G在中國(guó)可謂一波三折。中國(guó)移動(dòng)早在2012年就宣布將升級(jí)至TD-LTE 4G網(wǎng)絡(luò)。但由于監(jiān)管部門(mén)認(rèn)為當(dāng)時(shí)的4G技術(shù)不夠成熟，無(wú)法推向市場(chǎng)，中國(guó)移動(dòng)只好作罷。這一拖就拖到了現(xiàn)在。

????上周，中國(guó)工信部正式向三大國(guó)有運(yùn)營(yíng)商——中國(guó)移動(dòng)（中國(guó)移動(dòng)通信市場(chǎng)上的老大，約占據(jù)60%的市場(chǎng)份額）、中國(guó)聯(lián)通（China Unicom，約占20%的市場(chǎng)份額）和中國(guó)電信（China Telecom）發(fā)放4G牌照。4G網(wǎng)絡(luò)正式運(yùn)營(yíng)時(shí)間定在12月18日，屆時(shí)一些有條件的大城市可開(kāi)始切換網(wǎng)絡(luò)。（出于對(duì)潛在4G網(wǎng)絡(luò)的認(rèn)同，中國(guó)政府開(kāi)始大力支持4G的發(fā)展。各大運(yùn)營(yíng)商提都沒(méi)提政府收取4G牌照費(fèi)用的事，這與西方運(yùn)營(yíng)商動(dòng)輒花費(fèi)數(shù)百億美元購(gòu)買(mǎi)頻譜資源簡(jiǎn)直是天淵之別。）

????業(yè)內(nèi)人士表示，到2014年年中，中國(guó)4G網(wǎng)絡(luò)的普及將取得很大進(jìn)展。我上周四晚上在華為（Huawei）召開(kāi)的新聞發(fā)布會(huì)上就見(jiàn)過(guò)一位這樣的知情人士。華為是中國(guó)最大的通信設(shè)備制造商，如今還運(yùn)營(yíng)智能手機(jī)和平板業(yè)務(wù)。（這家公司這次召開(kāi)新聞發(fā)布會(huì)也是一個(gè)拼盤(pán)。華為此前沒(méi)什么必要同媒體打交道，因?yàn)樗嫦虻闹饕瞧髽I(yè)客戶。）

????華為T(mén)DD產(chǎn)品線副總裁邱恒是華為4G團(tuán)隊(duì)的一員。鑒于中國(guó)采用4G網(wǎng)絡(luò)比美國(guó)和日本晚了三年，我問(wèn)邱恒在中國(guó)部署4G網(wǎng)絡(luò)的過(guò)程中，最大的難點(diǎn)是什么。他想了想，說(shuō)：“沒(méi)有遇到什么困難。”這話著實(shí)令人難以置信。

????不過(guò)，華為在日本確實(shí)成功推出了4G設(shè)備。既然4G網(wǎng)絡(luò)在中國(guó)已經(jīng)正式獲批，那么盡管涉及的基站數(shù)目龐大，4G網(wǎng)絡(luò)的推出仍然應(yīng)當(dāng)十分順利。舉例來(lái)說(shuō)，中國(guó)移動(dòng)需要升級(jí)20多萬(wàn)個(gè)基站。（邱恒指出，美國(guó)和日本總共才有15萬(wàn)座基站。）借助華為的技術(shù)，只需對(duì)現(xiàn)有基站進(jìn)行軟件升級(jí)和小的硬件改造，就能支持4G網(wǎng)絡(luò)。報(bào)道稱，中國(guó)移動(dòng)的基站升級(jí)成本約為30億美元。

????邱恒稱4G網(wǎng)絡(luò)的普及將帶來(lái)顛覆性的影響。中國(guó)消費(fèi)者將能夠在手機(jī)上持續(xù)的觀看視頻。已經(jīng)流行的手機(jī)購(gòu)物將加速發(fā)展。媒體、娛樂(lè)以及中國(guó)的其他行業(yè)都將進(jìn)入一個(gè)新的時(shí)代。

????我問(wèn)邱恒，4G網(wǎng)絡(luò)是不是比中國(guó)移動(dòng)開(kāi)賣(mài)蘋(píng)果iPhone的意義還要重大？他點(diǎn)頭表示贊同。（財(cái)富中文網(wǎng)）

????譯者：項(xiàng)航

????Forget the breathless coverage of China Mobile offering the iPhone for a moment. Yes, it's huge news for China's biggest wireless carrier and Apple (AAPL) -- and we've heard plenty to the point. But the real game changer for China is another mobile milestone that's nearly as imminent: the rollout of the faster wireless network standard 4G.

????People elsewhere in the world take 4G for granted. I should know -- I once did. After 4G came to New York, my smartphone became faster than my PC. I watched Netflix (NFLX) on my iPhone. Google Maps (GOOG) search was instantaneous. Newspapers downloaded in seconds.

????Not so in China. Here, 3G still rules. I moved to Beijing this year, and the downgrade from 4G to 3G was brutal. The same apps weren't the same. Google Maps? Acceptable, but not great. Apple Newsstand: painfully slow. Yahoo Fantasy Football (YHOO) ... well, just don't wait to set your rosters.

????The 4G rollout in China has progressed in fits and stops. China Mobile (CHL) announced in 2012 that it would upgrade its systems to TD-LTE, a 4G standard, only to be rebuffed by government officials who worried the technology was not mature enough for the market. Delays ensued. 4G was wait-listed until now.

????Last week, China took the official step of granting 4G licenses to the three big state-owned carriers, China Mobile, a giant among giants with 60% of China's mobile market, China Unicom (CHU), second-largest with little over 20% share, and No. 3 China Telecom (CHA). The 4G switch is flipped on Dec. 18, when big cities will fire up the new network. (In a nod to the potential 4G offers, the Party has turned supportive. There's little talk from carriers about the cost of licenses from the government, compared to the Western world where carriers spend tens of billions on new spectrum.)

????Insiders say by mid-2014, the country should be far along in adopting 4G. I met one of those insiders last night at a press event for Huawei, the Chinese maker of telecom equipment that is now competing in smartphones and tablets. (Hence, the press mixer. The company previously had little need for reporters because of its business-to-business focus.)

????Qiu Heng is TDD Network Vice President at Huawei, part of the company's 4G team. I asked Heng what's been the most difficult part of China's 4G rollout, seeing as it's coming three years after 4G was adopted in the U.S. and Japan. He thinks about it for a moment. "There has been no difficulty," he says. This sounds improbable, and it is.

????But it's true that Huawei has worked out the 4G kinks in its equipment in Japan. The 4G release in China, now that it's been officially sanctioned, should be smooth, despite the massive numbers involved. China Mobile, for instance, needs to upgrade more than 200,000 base stations. (Heng points out the U.S. and Japan combined have 150,000 stations.) Software upgrades and minor hardware modifications to existing stations are enough to support 4G using Huawei's technology. Reports put China Mobile's cost of station upgrades at $3 billion.

????This is a game changer, Heng says. For the first time Chinese consumers will be able to consistently watch video on their phones. Mobile shopping, already popular, should grow faster with faster speeds. Media, entertainment, and other commerce should all experience a new era in China.

????Bigger than the iPhone release, I ask Heng? He nods his head yes.