my country has built 2.64 million 5G base stations, and a step-by-step optimized computing power supply system has been initially established.

The high-quality development of information and communications has effectively stimulated the vitality of the development of the digital economy. On April 20, at the press conference on the development of industry and information technology in the first quarter held by the State Council Information Office, Zhao Zhiguo, chief engineer and spokesperson of the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, introduced that in the first quarter, the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology conscientiously implemented the decisions and arrangements of the Party Central Committee and the State Council, adhered to the general tone of work of seeking progress while maintaining stability, and promoted the high-quality development of the information and communications industry to a new level.

First, the momentum is stronger and the industry is developing steadily. Emerging businesses are growing rapidly. The revenue of Internet data centers, cloud computing, and the Internet of Things has increased by 24.5% year-on-year, driving the growth of telecommunications business revenue by 4.8 percentage points, gradually becoming a new source of power for the development of the industry. Telecommunications business revenue has steadily increased, with a total of 425.2 billion yuan in the first quarter, a year-on-year increase of 7.7%. The total volume of telecommunications business increased by 18% year-on-year, and the overall operation of the industry is improving.

Second, the foundation is more solid, and network capabilities continue to improve. The network foundation is becoming increasingly complete. As of the end of March, China has built more than 2.64 million 5G base stations, and the number of ports with gigabit network service capabilities has exceeded 17.93 million, achieving "gigabit access to every city" and "5G access to every county". The scale of computing power is growing rapidly. The tiered optimized computing power supply system has been initially established, and the computing power scale ranks second in the world, with an annual growth rate of nearly 30%. The development of IPv6 continues to deepen. IPv6 has gone from "usable" to "easy to use". For the first time, mobile network IPv6 traffic has exceeded IPv4 traffic, accounting for more than 50%, ushering in the Internet era dominated by IPv6.

Third, the application is wider and high-speed services are popularized faster. The scale of connections continues to grow. As of the end of March, China had 620 million 5G mobile phone users, more than 100 million gigabit optical network users, and 1.984 billion mobile Internet users. The proportion of "things" connections increased to 53.8%, and the foundation of the Internet of Everything has been steadily consolidated. Converged applications have gone deeper and more practical. 5G applications have covered 52 major categories of the national economy. The number of "dual gigabit" network application cases of 5G and gigabit optical networks nationwide has exceeded 50,000. Mobile Internet of Things has achieved large-scale applications in digital city construction, smart transportation, mobile payments and other fields.

Fourth, the experience is better, and user services are universal and shared. Telecommunications universal services are being promoted in depth, network coverage in remote rural areas continues to improve, and 5G networks are expanding to rural areas, which strongly supports the rural revitalization strategy. Users' sense of gain continues to improve. In the first quarter, the download speeds of China's mobile and fixed broadband increased by 59.9% and 15.1% respectively compared with the same period last year, and mobile data traffic charges continued to decline. Information accessibility continues to increase, and the transformation of Internet applications for the elderly is being deepened, guiding a number of excellent transformation cases of mainstream and commonly used websites and mobile apps to be promoted and applied nationwide.

In the next step, the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology will focus on doing well in three aspects, making the information and communication industry better and stronger, and providing solid support for promoting high-quality economic and social development.

First, we will consolidate the foundation of digital facilities. We will study and introduce policies and measures to promote the coordinated development of new information infrastructure construction, promote the "Broadband Frontier", the "Light Chasing Action" for gigabit optical networks, the construction of cloud networks in small and medium-sized cities, and the high-quality development of the mobile Internet of Things, and promote the construction of new infrastructure in an integrated manner.

Second, accelerate technological and industrial innovation. Promote breakthroughs in key core technologies such as 6G, optical communications, and quantum communications, and increase research and development efforts in cutting-edge technologies such as artificial intelligence, blockchain, and digital twins. Overcome a number of key areas that are "stuck in the neck" and enhance the resilience and security of the industrial chain and supply chain.

The third is to deepen the integration and application of industries. We will vigorously promote the integrated application of new-generation information and communication technologies such as 5G and gigabit optical networks in vertical industries, information consumption, social livelihood and other fields, promote the large-scale application of the industrial Internet, focus on key areas to form innovative application demonstration benchmarks, and help the digital transformation of industries.