SmarTone Telecommunications Holdings Limited, a leading telecommunications provider in Hong Kong, was listed on the Hong Kong stock exchange in 1996. The company is a subsidiary of Sun Hung Kai Properties Limited, one of the largest property companies in Hong Kong. SmarTone began operations in March 1993, making it the first GSM network not only in Hong Kong, but also in Asia. The company was launched by Sun Hung Kai Properties and ABC Communications in 1992. The company has undergone several brand changes since its inception. Initially, it had a separate brand, EXTRA, for its GSM-1800-only packages, which were acquired through the purchase of P Plus Communications in March 1998. This brand was phased out in 2002 and merged into SmarTone's dual-band network. In April 2005, following a partnership agreement with Vodafone in December 2004, the company launched a new branding, "SmarTone-Vodafone", which was used only in Hong Kong. However, in September 2011, SmarTone announced that it would not renew its marketing cooperation with Vodafone and reverted its brand to SmarTone from December 2011. In January 2018, SmarTone launched a new brand, Birdie, targeting millennials.
3G Network
The company provided 2G GSM services over 900 and 1800 MHz, and launched a 3G UMTS in June 2006 over the B1 (2100 MHz) band. The network was upgraded to HSPA+ in November 2009, and DC-HSPA+ in October 2011.
3G Frequency Bands
| Network Frequency Band | Status |
|---|---|
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Active
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3G Network Events
| Date | Event | Subtype |
|---|---|---|
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Launch of 3G Network
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Launch
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4G Network
4G LTE began August 2012 over the B3 (1800 MHz) band. LTE-Advanced was launched July 2014, providing 2C aggregation of B3 (1800 MHz) with a new B7 (2600 MHz) service to provide up to 150 Mbps, or aggregation with a B8 (900 MHz) carrier to provide data rates up to 112 Mbps. 3C aggregation in CA_3A-7A-8A was also implemented.
The company announced an upgrade to LTE-A Pro in December 2016 with the addition of a B1 (2100 MHz) LTE network, along with 4X4 MIMO and 256QAM technologies. SmarTone trialled Massive MIMO over its B3 network in October 2017. The company became one of the first in the world to deploy LTE-U LAA in August 2018, providing peak data rates in excess of 1 Gbps using 5C carrier aggregation.
SmarTone implemented its first NB-IoT project enabling a smart property management solution at International Commerce Centre (ICC) in May 2018.
4G Frequency Bands
| Network Frequency Band | Max. Channel Bandwidth | Status | Known EARFCNs |
|---|---|---|---|
|
10
|
Active
|
374
|
|
|
10
|
Active
|
1551
|
|
|
10
|
Shutting Down
|
2460
|
|
|
10
|
Active
|
3000
|
|
|
5
|
Active
|
3775
|
4G Network Events
| Date | Event | Subtype |
|---|---|---|
|
|
Launch of 4G Network
|
Launch
|
5G Network
One of Hong Kong's first to invest in 5G, SmarTone began demonstrating 5G technology as early as 2017. SmarTone began trialling 5G in partnership with Qualcomm and Ericsson in October 2018. The company announced it had begun field testing 5G using n78 (3500 MHz) and n257 (28 GHz) carriers simultaneously, operating 100 MHz and 2CA 400 MHz channels respectively. The network was commercially launched in April 2020.
The network was first observed to be Standalone (SA) in January 2024.
5G Frequency Bands
| Network Frequency Band | Max. Channel Bandwidth | Status | Known EARFCNs |
|---|---|---|---|
|
10
|
Active
|
||
|
70
|
Active
|
634752
|
|
|
40
|
Active
|
||
|
400
|
Active
|
5G Network Events
| Date | Event | Subtype |
|---|---|---|
|
|
Launch of 5G Network
|
Launch
|