By Li Hongmei

China will start commercial 4G mobile communications services on December 18, bringing the most advanced telecommunications technology to the country's more than 1 billion mobile users.

China Mobile, the country's No. 1 mobile operator with over 700 million users, will start 4G services on that date with a new brand He, meaning harmonious in the Chinese language.

China is expected to issue licences for 4G before the telco's new services start.

Users in Beijing, Guangzhou and Chongqing will be the first to enjoy commercial 4G, or fourth generation, services. Shanghai, which is still building a citywide 4G network, will launch the services later.

Though China is the world's biggest mobile phone market with more than 1 billion users on its mainland, it lacks the 4G technology that is used in some other countries and regions including the United States, South Korea, Japan, Singapore and Hong Kong.

The 4G phone will become rapidly popular on China's mainland, thanks to the low cost of 4G phones, according to Li Yue, China Mobile's president, who expects some 4G phones priced below 1,000 yuan (US$162) to appear in the second half of next year.

Apple Inc is also set to introduce iPhones supporting the 4G network in China, industry insiders said. The US giant and China Mobile are in negotiations over the 4G iPhone and they will launch it officially on December 18.

China Telecom and China Unicom are now Apple's carrier partners for its smartphone on the Chinese mainland.