China had nearly 3.75 million 5G base stations as of the end of April
The commercialization of 5G in China has generated an overall economic output of approximately CNY 5.6 trillion ($787.53 billion) over the past five years, local press reported, citing a Chinese government official.
Zhao Zhiguo, chief engineer of the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology (MIIT) noted that 5G has also indirectly generated CNY14 trillion in economic output.
By the end of April, Chinese telcos have deployed nearly 3.75 million 5G base stations, or about 26 base stations per 10,000 people. The country’s essential 5G standard patent claims had accounted for over 42% of the world’s total, according to the reports.
The reports also noted that 5G technology has been widely used in key industries across China such as mining, electricity and healthcare, and has gradually penetrated from peripheral links to core areas like research and development, design and manufacturing.
The official also noted that the MIIT will make continued efforts to help deepen 5G network coverage, accelerate the expansion of 5G applications and actively promote the modernization of the information and communication industry in China.
The coverage penetration of 5G technology in China was expected to reach 90% as of the end of 2023, local newspaper Global Times previously 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 is expected to reach a 5G adoption rate of 90% by 2030, making it a world leader in this space, according to the GSMA’s Mobile Economy China 2024. The report predicted that by the end of 2024, the Asian country will surpass 1 billion 5G connections and that by 2030, the number will soar to 1.6 billion connections, contributing $260 billion to China’s GDP.
Additionally, the GSMA report found that mobile data traffic in China is expected to quadruple by the end of the decade and that there are now 1.28 billion unique mobile subscribers in China, representing a penetration rate of 88%. Further, the advanced cellular ecosystem now supports almost 8 million jobs in China and contributes $110 billion a year through taxation, and in 2023, operator revenues reached $225 billion. By the end of the decade, the annual economic contribution from China’s mobile sector is forecast to exceed $1 trillion, predicted the GSMA.
