How can we enable ordinary people to use 5G effectively?

In the vigorous wave of 5G construction, my country has built the world's largest 5G network, achieving full coverage of 5G networks in all cities above the prefecture level. The number of 5G package users is also accelerating, reaching 300 million in more than a year. This shows that 5G is now visible and tangible, and the key lies in whether it can be used and used well.

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The 5G construction wave is surging

As the digital economy is booming, 5G networks have become one of the most important public infrastructures. At present, my country's 5G construction has made substantial progress. According to the data from the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, by the end of 2020, a total of 718,000 5G base stations will be put into operation, and the number of 5G mobile phone terminal connections will exceed 200 million.

In the first year of the 14th Five-Year Plan, my country will continue to promote the construction and application of 5G networks. The 2021 Government Work Report proposes to increase the construction of 5G networks and gigabit optical networks and enrich application scenarios.

The Ministry of Industry and Information Technology also recently issued the "Dual Gigabit Network Collaborative Development Action Plan (2021-2023)", which set development goals: in three years, a "dual gigabit" network infrastructure that fully covers urban areas and qualified townships will be basically built, and fixed and mobile networks will generally have "gigabit to the home" capabilities; gigabit optical networks and 5G users will develop faster, and user experience will continue to improve.

Empowering applications to release value

The white paper "5G Industry Economic Contribution" of the China Academy of Information and Communications Technology predicts that from 2020 to 2025, the commercial use of 5G in my country will directly drive the total economic output to 10.6 trillion yuan, indirectly drive the total economic output to about 24.8 trillion yuan, and directly create more than 3 million jobs. This also means that "building well is not the purpose of 5G, but using it well is the real purpose of 5G." 5G, with its low latency, large bandwidth, and wide connection characteristics, meets the diverse communication needs and is constantly stimulating new sparks of wisdom.

On the one hand, 5G has become a key driving force for industrial development. From an analytical point of view, 5G leads the new infrastructure, is the commanding height of scientific and technological competition, the foundation for the implementation of the Internet of Everything, and the standard of new smart cities. Wang Zhiqin, deputy director of the China Academy of Information and Communications Technology, believes that the large-scale commercial use of 5G is driving the explosive growth of data traffic, driving the market's demand for data storage, processing, computing and analysis, and further setting off an investment boom in new infrastructure such as data centers and cloud computing; at the same time, 5G will meet the needs of personal interaction and convenience, driving the continuous enrichment of mobile terminals, wearable devices, smart IoT homes, robots, drones and other products, and releasing the huge potential of terminal consumption.

On the other hand, 5G's innovative application scenarios have changed people's lifestyles. Since last year, the COVID-19 pandemic has forced new business forms such as remote work, online shopping for fresh vegetables, online education, and Internet medical care to rise against the trend. While changing people's living habits, the digital economy they represent has become a new driving force for China's economic recovery.

Sharing a new smart life

5G will be a powerful driving force and important engine for social and economic development during the 14th Five-Year Plan period. When will 5G, which is on the cusp of the trend, really become popular? It requires the joint efforts of all parties to seek common development.

The 2021 Government Work Report clearly puts forward the requirement for the three major operators to "reduce the average broadband and dedicated line charges for small and medium-sized enterprises by another 10%". The Ministry of Industry and Information Technology recently publicly emphasized again that 5G speed increase and fee reduction are imperative. To this end, China Telecom acted quickly and established a special working group for speed increase and fee reduction. On March 23, it carried out comprehensive deployment in 31 provinces across the country, and helped small and medium-sized enterprises to upgrade their digital industries through precise speed increase and fee reduction, and various policies to benefit businesses and enterprises. In the years of "speed increase and fee reduction", operators have made a total profit of nearly 500 billion yuan.

The expert also pointed out that "operators need to further improve service quality and create a healthy competitive environment. To increase more 5G users, operators also need to improve product application quality and develop more popular 5G applications."

Wen Ku, Director of the Communications Development Department of the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, said that the next step will be to continue to accelerate the construction of 5G networks, encourage mobile phone companies to innovate in research and development, and provide users with 5G mobile phone products with higher cost performance and better experience. In addition, it is also necessary to promote the three major operators to gradually reduce 5G network charges by optimizing packages to promote 5G consumption and popularization.