China said its investments in the 5G field increased by 5.7% last year versus the previous year
China hiked its investment in 5G networks to CNY190.5 billion ($26.6 billion) last year, local press reported, citing the latest official data from the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology.
China’s 5G investments increased by 5.7% last year versus the previous year, representing over 45% of the country’s overall investments in telecom fixed-assets. China’s total investment in 5G base stations has reached CNY730 billion last year, according to the report.
Chinese companies China Telecom, China Unicom, China Mobile and China Tower invested CNY420.5 billion in fixed assets last year, up 0.3% from the previous year, according to official data.
China had 11.6 million mobile communication base stations as of the end of last year, of which 3.4 million were 5G base stations. 5G base stations currently account for 29% of total mobile base stations in China. The ratio is 7.8 percentage points higher compared to the end of 2022.
According to the report, China’s telecom sector generated overall revenues of CNY1.68 trillion in 2023, an increase of 6.2% over the previous year.
The coverage penetration of 5G technology in China was expected to reach 90% as of the end of 2023, local newspaper Global Times reported, citing an executive from local carrier China Mobile.
Bian Yannan, deputy general manager of planning and construction department at China Mobile, had said that this penetration rate was expected to be achieved thanks to the deployment of 360,000 5G base stations during 2023.
China aims to start commercializing 6G technology by 2030 and expects that the standard-setting for the technology will be achieved around 2025, according to Wang Zhiqin, the head of China’s 6G promotion team and vice president of the China Academy of Information and Communications Technology.
Wang previously noted that China began 6G technological experiments last year and has been carrying research on 6G system architecture and technical solutions during 2023.
In June 2023, the country’s Ministry of Industry and Information Technology said that the Chinese government allocated spectrum in the 6 GHz frequency band for 5G and 6G services. The 6 GHz spectrum is the only high-quality resource with large bandwidth in the mid-band, taking into account its coverage and capacity advantages, the ministry said, noting that the 6 GHz range is particularly suitable for the deployment of 5G systems or 6G systems in the future.
