China ramping for large-scale 5G deployment
More than 10,000 5G base stations will be deployed in China’s capital Beijing by the end of the year, Chinese press reported, citing Beijing’s municipal telecom authorities
As of July, the capital city had already constructed over 7,800 5G base stations, mainly located in its urban core zones and the venues of the 2022 Winter Olympics, according to the Beijing Communications Administration.
Also, the 5G network in the newly-built Beijing Daxing International Airport will be put into use when the airport starts operation at the end of September, according to the report.
Other main cities across China are paving the way for the launch of 5G services city wide. The authorities of the city Guangzhou had previously announced plans to reach full coverage with 5G technology by 2021 with the deployment of 65,000 5G base stations, according to a report by Chinese newspaper China Daily.
Guangzhou’s Bureau of Industry and Information Technology said it aims to deploy 14,600 5G base stations by the end of this year, with 5,000 sites already in operation, according to the report.
5G-related businesses such as electronic manufacturing and artificial intelligence in Guangzhou are expected to generate more than CNY800 billion ($116 billion) by 2021, the bureau said.
To promote 5G use by industry, the Chinese city plans to develop a 5G industrial innovation alliance and apply the technology in various fields, including smart logistics, smart cities and industrial Internet.
Also, Shanghai, China’s second-largest city by population, said it is targeting covering the entire downtown and main suburban areas with 5G technology by the end of 2019 through the deployment of 10,000 5G base stations.
By 2020, Shanghai will have full 5G coverage throughout the city with 20,000 5G base stations. A total of CNY 20 billion ($2.9 billion) will be invested in the area. Plans also include the deployment of 10,000 additional 5G stations by 2021.
The municipal government’s ambitious plan to deliver 5G coverage in Shanghai by 2020 is part of a three-year plan which will see it invest a total of CNY30 billion ($4.4 billion), China Daily reported.
According to the China Academy of Information and Communications Technology, 5G technology is expected to create more than 8 million jobs by 2030.
In June, China’s Ministry of Industry and Information Technology (MIIT) officially issued licenses for the launch of commercial 5G networks in the country. The 5G permits were granted to state-run carriers China Mobile, China Unicom, China Telecom and state-owned broadcaster China Broadcasting Network.
China is currently testing 5G technology across all major cities, provinces and regions. It is forecasted that 28% of China’s mobile connections will be running on 5G networks by 2025, accounting for about one-third of all 5G connections globally, according to a recent report by the GSMA.
