5G will become a new engine of economic growth

my country's 5G network construction and application are accelerating. As of November this year, 1.396 million 5G base stations have been built, 5G terminal users have reached 497 million, and more than 1,800 "5G+Industrial Internet" projects are under construction.

While significantly boosting consumption, 5G has also played an important role in stabilizing investment and driving the development of the industrial chain. Experts believe that the new digital infrastructure represented by 5G is the core of the new infrastructure and has become an important engine to drive a new round of economic growth.

Network construction is advancing both in quantity and quality

Beijing has achieved continuous outdoor 5G signal coverage within the Fifth Ring Road of Beijing, Anhui Province completed the goal of "5G network basically achieving coverage of areas above the township level" two years ahead of schedule, and all key areas in all districts and counties of Chongqing have achieved full coverage of 5G networks... The speed of 5G network construction is constantly accelerating.

"China's 5G development has achieved remarkable and world-leading achievements." Xie Cun, director of the Information and Communications Development Department of the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, introduced that at present, my country has built more than 70% of the world's 5G base stations, which is the world's largest and most technologically advanced 5G independent networking network. All prefecture-level cities, more than 97% of county towns and 40% of townships in the country have achieved 5G network coverage; the number of 5G terminal users accounts for more than 80% of the world; there are more than 10,000 5G application innovation cases nationwide, covering multiple industries such as industry, medical care, education, and transportation.

my country's 5G development also has leading advantages in standards and technologies. Public data shows that among the global 5G standard essential patents, the number of patent declarations by Chinese companies ranks first in the world. Chinese companies have actively participated in and taken the lead in the formulation of some 5G international standards, playing an important role. Among them, Huawei, as an important technical contributor to the 5G standard, has announced the basic patent fee rate for the 5G standard. In March this year, Ding Jianxin, director of Huawei's Intellectual Property Department, announced that Huawei's patent licensing fee for a single mobile phone that complies with the 5G standard is capped at US$2.5.

At the same time, my country's 5G terminals are constantly enriched. According to data from the China Academy of Information and Communications Technology, from January to November this year, my country's cumulative shipments of 5G mobile phones reached 239 million units, a year-on-year increase of 65.3%.

Xie Cun said that during the 14th Five-Year Plan period, my country will build the world's largest 5G independent networking network, strive to have 26 5G base stations per 10,000 people, achieve full coverage of cities and towns, basic coverage of administrative villages, and in-depth coverage of key application scenarios, among which the 5G penetration rate of administrative villages is expected to reach 80%.

"By 2025, my country will have more than 3.6 million 5G base stations, with priority given to completing 5G network coverage in key areas. We will also increase the promotion and application of new technologies. On the one hand, we will carry out 5G millimeter wave network construction in a timely manner. On the other hand, we will promote the innovation and maturity of 5G industry virtual private network construction models, operation services, and technical solutions in response to industry application needs." said Peng Jian, deputy director of the Radio Management Institute of the China Academy of Information and Communications Technology.

5G applications set sail

In JD's 5G smart logistics park, unmanned heavy trucks, unmanned light trucks, unmanned inspection robots, etc. are automatically dispatched remotely, vehicles can be booked online, enter the park without any feeling, and realize automatic route guidance and intelligent dispatch of stations. The facial recognition system conducts multi-level employee authority control in the park, warehouse, and sorting. AR (augmented reality) glasses help operators automatically identify goods and combine visual instructions to assist operations.

At the Youngor factory in Ningbo, Zhejiang, China Unicom's 5G-enabled MES system issues instructions, and fabrics "line up" one by one in the assembly line. The cut fabrics automatically enter the sewing process, and the sewn tops can be precisely matched with the trousers, completing the "transformation" from cutting to finished clothing.

5G applications are being integrated into thousands of industries at an accelerated pace, becoming an important engine for promoting the digital, networked and intelligent transformation of the economy and society.

According to statistics, there are more than 10,000 cases of 5G application innovation in China, covering 22 major industries of the national economy. "5G + Industrial Internet" has been deployed in ten major industries such as mining, steel, electricity, petrochemicals, etc., forming 20 typical application scenarios such as remote equipment control, machine vision quality inspection, and production energy efficiency control.

Among them, application scenarios in vertical industries such as industrial manufacturing, mining, and ports have accelerated their scale of implementation, and have expanded from the initial production support business to core businesses such as equipment control and quality control. These are areas where 5G application solutions are relatively mature.

5G applications in education, medical care, information consumption and other fields are also accelerating. A number of typical applications and benchmark projects such as 5G online classrooms, 5G virtual laboratories, 5G cloud examination rooms, and 5G smart campuses have emerged, accumulating experience for the pilot application of 5G in smart education; more than 600 tertiary hospitals across the country have carried out 5G+ emergency first aid, remote diagnosis, health management and other applications; 5G applications such as AR tour guides, 4K/8K live broadcasts, and immersive teaching have greatly improved consumer experience in information consumption fields such as game entertainment, event live broadcasts, and residential services.

Xie Cun said that during the "14th Five-Year Plan" period, the three major areas of information consumption, real economy, and people's livelihood services will be focused on, and 5G applications will be promoted in 15 industries to create a new deep integration ecosystem, achieve breakthroughs in the depth and breadth of 5G applications in key areas, build a dual pillar of technology industry and standard system, and gradually form a development situation in which 5G applications "set sail".

Huge potential for stable growth

"As an important component of the new infrastructure, 5G can play a direct role in stabilizing investment through the deployment of a number of 5G new infrastructure projects, and drive the coordinated and stable development of upstream and downstream companies in the 5G industry chain. More importantly, digital technologies represented by 5G are important engines for the digital transformation of the economy and society, and have great potential in promoting consumption, assisting upgrades, and cultivating new drivers of economic development," said Peng Jian.

Data released by the China Academy of Information and Communications Technology show that the three major basic telecommunications operators plan to spend a total of 184.7 billion yuan on 5G capital expenditures in 2021, an increase of 5.1% from 2020. Ding Yun, executive director of Huawei and president of the Carrier BG, said that in countries and regions where 5G is developing rapidly, operators who have invested heavily in 5G have achieved remarkable commercial returns. At present, the 5G user penetration rate in China, South Korea, Kuwait and other countries has exceeded the critical point of 20%, and operators have entered a new spiral development pattern of user growth, commercial returns, and network construction.

The spillover effect of 5G is significant. The China Academy of Information and Communications Technology predicts that in 2021, 5G will directly drive total economic output of 1.3 trillion yuan, directly drive economic added value of about 300 billion yuan, indirectly drive total output of about 3.38 trillion yuan, and indirectly drive economic added value of about 1.23 trillion yuan, an increase of 33%, 39%, 31% and 31% respectively compared with 2020.

5G construction has greater market potential and investment space in vertical industries. "With the continuous evolution of 5G standards, the continuous improvement of 5G networks, and the continuous enrichment of 5G products, the enabling role of 5G in vertical industries such as manufacturing, transportation, logistics, ports, mining, electricity, oil and gas, and agriculture is becoming increasingly prominent, which will help vertical industries accelerate digital transformation and promote cost reduction and efficiency improvement in the industry," said Peng Jian.

From the perspective of promoting digital transformation, how to promote the next development of 5G?

Xiao Yaqing, Minister of the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, said that the construction of 5G and gigabit optical networks will be carried out in a steady and orderly manner, and the large-scale construction of 5G industry virtual private networks will be accelerated to lay a solid foundation for network infrastructure for digital transformation. The large-scale development of 5G applications will be promoted, focusing on key industries such as manufacturing, mining, electricity, ports, and medical care, and in-depth exploration of typical application scenarios of "5G+Industrial Internet" at the production line and workshop levels to create a number of 5G fully connected factory benchmarks.