China Mobile Communications Corp, the parent company of the world's largest telecom carrier by subscriber, announced on Tuesday that it plans to deploy the world's biggest 4G LTE network in China this year, covering more than 500 million people, according to the company's chairman.

In a keynote speech at the Global TD-LTE Initiative (GTI) summit in Barcelona, Xi Guohua, chairman of China Mobile, said the homegrown TD-LTE technology had gained greater popularity across the globe and the industry was maturing.

China Mobile will build a TD-LTE 4G network this year covering more than 100 Chinese cities, or about 500 million people, Xi said.

"I think it will be the largest LTE network in the world," he said at the event. Meanwhile, China Mobile is about to procure more than 1 million TD-LTE terminals, including smartphones and data cards, in 2013.

"Besides high-end mobile phones (supporting the TD-LTE standard), low and mid end mobile phones will also enter the market, providing customers with more rich choices," Xi said.