A quick overview of 5G industry developments in May 2021

After the rapid development in 2020, 2021 is a critical year for my country's 5G. The Ministry of Industry and Information Technology said that this year, my country's 5G base station construction will reach a cumulative goal of 1 million, and further results will be achieved in 5G network coverage, 5G terminal connections, 5G user growth and 5G commercial exploration. Against this background, my country's 5G construction has continued to make progress since May 2021, and the development of the industry is expected.

Huawei Completes First 5G Large-Scale Commercial Network Verification

On May 1, Huawei announced that it and China Unicom had completed the upgrade of the 5G commercial VoNR voice solution in Shenzhen, completing the first 5G large-scale commercial network VoNR verification. It is reported that this test was based on Shenzhen Unicom's 5G commercial network, with a site scale of over 100 stations, and combined terminals and chips to complete end-to-end 5G basic voice and video calls, 4G/5G voice switching and other basic function tests.

China Unicom officially launches 5G service in Hong Kong

On May 1, China Unicom officially launched 5G services in Hong Kong, launching 3 categories and 30 5G monthly packages, covering the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area and realizing 5G data roaming sharing. China Unicom's 22 business outlets in Hong Kong simultaneously launched the new "More, Faster, More Beautiful, More Enjoyable" themed 5G services, and introduced a series of preferential measures to benefit people's livelihood.

The Ministry of Industry and Information Technology has formulated a "Sailing" action plan for 5G applications

On May 4, the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology drafted and compiled the "5G Application "Sailing" Action Plan (2021-2023)". The plan points out that by 2023, the penetration rate of 5G individual users will exceed 40%, the number of users will exceed 560 million; the proportion of 5G network access traffic will exceed 50%; there will be more than 18 5G base stations per 10,000 people, and more than 3,000 5G industry virtual private networks will be built; the average annual growth rate of 5G IoT terminal users will exceed 200%.

There are 162 5G commercial networks in the world

Data released by the Global Mobile Suppliers Association shows that as of mid-April, 435 telecom operators from 133 countries and regions have invested in 5G trials, spectrum acquisition, network deployment and launch. Among them, 162 operators in 68 countries and regions have launched one or more 5G commercial services. At the same time, 703 5G devices have been announced, including 351 smartphones and 431 commercial 5G devices.

China Academy of Information and Communications Technology releases domestic 5G mobile phone situation in April

On May 11, the China Academy of Information and Communications Technology released an analysis report on the operation of the domestic mobile phone market in April 2021. In April 2021, the domestic market shipped 21.42 million 5G mobile phones, accounting for 77.9% of the mobile phone shipments in the same period; 16 new models were launched, accounting for 50.0% of the number of new mobile phone models launched in the same period. From January to April, the domestic market shipped 91.267 million 5G mobile phones and launched 80 new models, accounting for 72.7% and 51.9% respectively.

The Ministry of Industry and Information Technology held a special meeting on 5G/6G

On May 12, the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology held a special meeting on 5G/6G. The Ministry of Industry and Information Technology said that my country has taken the lead in 5G development, with more than 819,000 5G base stations built, accounting for about 70% of the world's total; the number of 5G mobile terminal user connections has reached 280 million, accounting for more than 80% of the world's total. The proportion of 5G standard essential patents exceeds 38%, ranking first in the world. For 6G, it is stated that in-depth research on 6G application scenarios will be carried out to promote breakthroughs in key technological innovations.

China Telecom launches 5G cloud package

On May 17, at the World Telecommunication and Information Society Day Conference, China Telecom launched 5G cloud packages to meet the information consumption needs of individuals and families in multiple scenarios and build a digital life on the cloud. The 5G cloud package breaks the communication service model of traditional packages with traffic, voice and SMS as the basic framework, and incorporates 60GB of free cloud space into the basic components of the package, realizing a cloud for everyone and a cloud for every family.

The country's first operator service 5G message is launched

On May 17, Beijing Mobile's 5G message service was launched, which is the first service-type 5G message in the communications industry. According to reports, users do not need to download the APP, and can automatically jump to the application scenario through mobile phone text messages, scanning QR codes, etc. On the interactive interface similar to traditional text messages, you can see information such as phone bills, traffic inquiries, and popular rights and interests. At the same time, you can directly recharge phone bills, make appointments at business halls to get numbers, and check points.