China Mobile's 4G experience center in Hangzhou, Zhejiang province.[Photo/China Daily]

China licensed FDD-LTE networks, the fourth-generation mobile standard network preferred by China Telecom and China Unicom, on Friday, in a move that is expected to help the two telcos boost their 4G business.

China's Ministry of Industry and Information Technology wrote on its official micro blog, that it has officially granted FDD-LTE licenses to China Telecom and China Unicom, hoping to support them to boost Information consumption in the country.

"Fully commercialized FDD business will help China Telecom and China Unicom build bigger 4G networks and better serve the customers," wrote the MIIT, adding the move will also bring down the price of 4G services in the country.

The issuing of the licenses is clearly good news for both China Telecom and China Unicom in terms of converting their 3G users into 4G users, but analysts said that it can hardly reshape the landscape of China's 4G market, which is dominated by China Mobile.

Xiang Ligang, a Beijing-based independent telecom analyst, said with the licenses at hand, China Telecom and China Unicom are expected to move fast to expand their 4G service across the country.

"They will significantly invest to boost 4G service coverage in order to grab more market share," Xiang said.

But given China Mobile's huge user base and its early adopter advantage in 4G, Xiang said it is unlikely for China Telecom and China Unicom to change the market landscape with the newly gained FDD-LTE licenses.

Statistics from MITT show that China boasts nearly 97 million 4G users in 2014, out of which 90.06 million are subscribers of China Mobile.