Beijing has become the second city in China to achieve full coverage of 5G technology, according to a statement released by the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology.
As of the end of July, Chinese operators had installed a total of 44,000 5G base stations across the city, and the figure is expected to reach 50,000 by the end of 2020, according to the ministry.
Currently, there are about 5.06 million 5G users in Beijing.
By June, the total number of 5G base stations in Beijing had reached 22,500. The city will also boost the development of 5G applications, such as unmanned vehicles, and promote 5G construction at the Beijing Daxing International Airport and the 5G transformation of venues for the 2022 Winter Olympics.
In August, the municipal government of Shenzhen announced that the city’s 5G deployment was fully completed. With the deployment of almost 46,500 5G base stations, Shenzhen became the first city in China to to achieve full-scale 5G deployment.
Shenzhen, a southern tech hub in Guangdong Province, was one of the first pilot cities of the 5G network in China. The city, with more than 12.5 million residents, is home to telecoms giant Huawei Technologies and other Chinese tech companies including ZTE and Tencent Holdings.
Jia Xingdong, director of Shenzhen municipal bureau of industry and information technology, said that the city will now promote the development of 5G industries by making a number of breakthroughs in 5G technologies and building a comprehensive 5G application ecosystem.
Shanghai has previously stated its commitment to investing CNY 10 billion ($1.4 billion) in 5G network construction this year, with the city anticipating 30,000 outdoor 5G base stations and 50,000 indoor small stations built by the end of 2020.
Chinese carriers China Telecom, China Mobile and China Unicom have already deployed a total of 480,000 5G base stations, which represents 96% of the country’s target for the year of 500,000, according to government data.
China also ended August with approximately 100 million devices connected to 5G networks in mainland China, according to the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology (MIIT).
According to MIIT Minister Xiao Yaqing, there were more than 60 million 5G users in the country as of the end of last month.
In June 2019, China’s Ministry of Industry and Information Technology (MIIT) officially issued licenses for the launch of commercial 5G networks in the country. Those 5G permits were granted to China Mobile, China Unicom, China Telecom and state-owned broadcaster China Broadcasting Network.
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 previous report by the GSMA.
